Dynamics of sulfur dioxide absorption in excised porcine tracheae

The absorption of sulfur dioxide (SO2) into excised porcine tracheae was characterized by a step-response experiment in which SO2 outlet concentration was monitored during the 30-min interval following introduction of inlet concentrations of 0.1-0.6 ppm at steady air flows of 2.7-11.0 liter/min. These data were analyzed with a diffusion-reaction theory incorporating three independent parameters--a gas phase mass transfer coefficient, kg, a tissue phase diffusivity x solubility product, D(alpha RT)2, and a tissue phase reaction constant, kr. While single values of 17 sec-1 for kr and 0.28 m2/sec for D(alpha RT)2 were sufficient to simulate all the data, it was necessary to vary kg from a 0.032 to 0.121 m/sec in direct proportion to the gas flow. Based on these parameter values, gas phase resistance accounts for about one-fourth of the total resistance to absorption in gas and tissue phases combined. All three parameters were independent of inlet concentration, implying that diffusion, solubility, and irreversible reaction of SO2 in tissue are all linear processes.