Aspects of the role of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant of ethanol in the atmosphere and surface waters

• Grant number: 16/07534-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: July 01, 2016
• End date: January 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Maria Lúcia Arruda de Moura Campos
• Grantee: Caroline Scaramboni
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The high use of ethanol fuel in Brazil leads to an atmosphere particularly rich in alcohols and aldehydes, especially in large urban areas. With the perspective of second generation ethanol production, automotive emissions associated with the use of this fuel are expected to increase, affecting the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere and public health. Acetaldehyde and formaldehyde have great relevance to human health, and the participation of hydrogen peroxide in the oxidation of alcohols, with consequent production of these compounds and organic acids, is still unknown. The emission and transformation processes that occur in the lower troposphere can be investigated via wet deposition since this is an important removal mechanism of gases and particulate matter in that compartment. This fact is evidenced by the particularly high concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and organic oxygenates in rainwater in Brazil, resulting from intense biomass burning and elevated use of ethanol fuel in the country. Little is known about the role of hydrogen peroxide in photochemical processes of formation or loss of ethanol and acetaldehyde, both in the atmosphere and in surface waters. Nor much is known about the role of aquatic environments in the loss or production of oxygen species in the atmosphere. This project aims to investigate the role of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant both in the atmosphere and in surface waters in order to evaluate sources and sinks of organic species such as ethanol and acetaldehyde. In this study samples of gas phase, rainwater and surface waters will be collected in the city of Ribeirão Preto - a typically sugarcane producing city - and in the city of São Paulo, whose urban environment is highly impacted by automotive emissions. It is expected to better understand the possible direct or indirect impacts on human health caused by the production and use of fuel ethanol in Brazil.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GIUBBINA, FERNANDA F.; SCARAMBONI, CAROLINE; DE MARTINIS, BRUNO S.; GODOY-SILVA, DANIELY; NOGUEIRA, RAQUEL F. P.; CAMPOS, M. LUCIA A. M.. A simple method for simultaneous determination of acetaldehyde, acetone, methanol, and ethanol in the atmosphere and natural waters. ANALYTICAL METHODS, v. 9, n. 19, p. 2915-2922, MAY 21 2017. (13/12789-8, 13/13482-3, 12/00358-0, 16/07534-9)

SCARAMBONI, C.; CRISPIM, C. P.; TOLEDO, JR., J. C.; CAMPOS, M. L. A. M.. Investigating hydrogen peroxide in rainwater of a typical midsized city in tropical Brazil using a novel application of a fluorometric method. Atmospheric Environment, v. 176, p. 201-208, MAR 2018. (13/12789-8, 13/07937-8, 16/07534-9)

GIUBBINA, FERNANDA F.; SCARAMBONI, CAROLINE; DE MARTINIS, BRUNO S.; GODOY-SILVA, DANIELY; MELLO, IGRAYNE N. P. D.; NOGUEIRA, RAQUEL F. P.; CAMPOS, M. LUCIA A. M.. Temporal variation of ethanol in rainwater from the sugar cane belt of Sao Paulo State (Brazil). Atmospheric Environment, v. 216, NOV 1 2019. (18/16554-9, 16/07534-9, 12/00358-0, 13/13482-3)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SCARAMBONI, Caroline. Aspects of hydrogen peroxide role as an oxidant in the atmosphere in the context of current public policies to vehicular emissions. 2018. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) Ribeirão Preto.