Interaction of ethyl alcohol vapor with sulfuric acid solutions

We investigated the uptake of ethyl alcohol (ethanol) vapor by sulfuric acid solutions over the range approximately 40 to approximately 80 wt % H2SO4 and temperatures of 193-273 K. Laboratory studies used a fast flow-tube reactor coupled to an electron-impact ionization mass spectrometer for detection of ethanol and reaction products. The uptake coefficients (gamma) were measured and found to vary from 0.019 to 0.072, depending upon the acid composition and temperature. At concentrations greater than approximately 70 wt % and in dilute solutions colder than 220 K, the gamma values approached approximately 0.07. We also determined the effective solubility constant of ethanol in approximately 40 wt % H2SO4 in the temperature range 203-223 K. The potential implications to the budget of ethanol in the global troposphere are briefly discussed.