The UNREAL (Unveiling nucleation mechanism in aircraft engine exhaust and its link with fuel composition) project: Results from simulation chamber and reactor experiments
Résumé
Aviation emissions are not limited to greenhouse gases like CO2 but include other gases as well, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) or sulfur oxides (SOx) and volatile and non-volatile particulate matter (vPM and nvPM respectively). Sulfuric acid formed in the engine exhaust seems to be linked to the formation of vPM. However, the amount of sulfur present in the fuel converted to sulfuric acid in the exhaust is too small to explain the amount of vPM observed (Vancassel et al. 2004). Organic compounds emitted by the engine are among the most suitable candidates to explain the formation of vPM in the engine exhaust (Sorokin et al. 2001), but the molecular mechanisms behind this phenomenon are still unknown.