1. Studies of competing evaporation rates of multiple volatile components from a single binary-component aerosol droplet
- Author
-
Mani Ordoubadi, David Barona, Jonathan P. Reid, Allen E. Haddrell, David Lewis, Tanya Church, Rachael E. H. Miles, Reinhard Vehring, and Florence K. A. Gregson
- Subjects
Range (particle radiation) ,Materials science ,Microphysics ,Condensation ,Evaporation ,General Physics and Astronomy ,02 engineering and technology ,Radius ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,0104 chemical sciences ,Aerosol ,Physics::Fluid Dynamics ,13. Climate action ,Chemical physics ,Relative humidity ,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry ,0210 nano-technology ,Physics::Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics ,Evaporative cooler - Abstract
The simultaneous evaporation and condensation of multiple volatile components from multicomponent aerosol droplets leads to changes in droplet size, composition and temperature. Measurements and models that capture and predict these dynamic aerosol processes are key to understanding aerosol microphysics in a broad range of contexts. We report measurements of the evaporation kinetics of droplets (initially ∼25 μm radius) formed from mixtures of ethanol and water levitated within a electrodynamic balance over timescales spanning 500 ms to 6 s. Measurements of evaporation into a gas phase of varied relative humidity and temperature are shown to compare well with predictions from a numerical model. We show that water condensation from the gas phase can occur concurrently with ethanol evaporation from aqueous-ethanol droplets. Indeed, water can condense so rapidly during the evaporation of a pure ethanol droplet in a humid environment, driven by the evaporative cooling the droplet experiences, that the droplet becomes pure water within 0.4 s.
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF