TITLE:
Study of Formic and Acetic Acids in the Air of Humid Savannah Case of Lamto (Côte d’Ivoire)
AUTHORS:
Pêlèmayo Raoul Touré, Georges Kouame Kouadio, Urbain Kouakou Koffi, Charles Romaric Beugré
KEYWORDS:
Formic Acid, Acetic Acid, Organic Acidity, Biomass Burning
JOURNAL NAME:
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences,
Vol.6 No.2,
April
13,
2016
ABSTRACT: From January 1995 to December 2004, 860 rainwater samples were collected in the humid savannah of Lamto. Using the Henry’s law, we determined the content of formic and acetic acids in the air based on their concentrations in rainwater. The annual partial pressure of both formic and acetic acids over the decade is variable. It covers a range of 0.003 (1998) to 0.21 ppbv (1996) and 0.27 (1999) to 0.47 ppbv (1996) for formic and acetic acids respectively. Also, the partial pressure in the dry season is higher than that in the wet season. This difference is related to the enrichment of the organic acid content in the air by the various sources that produce these acids. One of the main sources of increment in organic acid is biomass burning. This biomass burning contributes between 21% and 51% to the formation of the two acids in the humid savannah of Lamto. Ultimately the average annual organic acidity varies from 40% to 60% over the ten years period.