Dekati® Oxidation Flow Reactor, DOFR™, is a constant flow oxidation flow reactor for secondary aerosol (SA) formation studies. The formation of secondary aerosols can take several days in the atmosphere and the purpose of the oxidation flow reactor is to speed up these processes. In the Dekati® DOFR™, the formation processes are accelerated by creating highly oxidative conditions for the aerosol sample and the timescale is reduced from days to less than one minute. The flow through the oxidation chamber is kept constant and laminar, resulting in minimal particle losses. All these features make the DOFR an ideal tool for PAM (Potential Aerosol Mass) measurements and SA formation research.
In the DOFR™, the aerosol sample passes through a laminar flow reactor where it is exposed to high intensity UV radiation. The UVC radiation together with water molecules and ozone in the sample create highly oxidative conditions inside the reactor speeding up the formation of secondary aerosols. The size, concentration and mass of the aerosol is then monitored with a particle measurement instrument connected at the outlet of the reactor. For example, the Dekati® ELPI®+ (Electrical Low Pressure Impactor) is well suited for monitoring the particle size distribution and concentration in real time after the reactor. The key advantage of the Dekati® DOFR™ is its very low aerosol sample residence time. This short residence time together with the laminar flow profile inside the reactor make the DOFR™ an ideal tool to study even transient emission sources such as engine tailpipe emissions in variable driving conditions.
