Molecular Beam Studies of Environmental Gas-Liquid Reactions: The Removal of Gaseous Sulfur Dioxide by Molten Carbonates

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I propose to investigate collisions and reactions of toxic gases with molten salts, focusing on the reactive uptake of sulfur dioxide (SO2) into alkali carbonate (CO2-3) melts. This project will be the first study of the degradation of an industrially and environmentally important compound at the surface of molten salts using a surface-sensitive probe, namely molecular beam scattering. We seek to answer the following questions: 1) Does SO2 react with CO2-3 directly within the outermost layers of the melt or must it dissolve deeply in order to react? 2) Can high kinetic energy SO2 molecules act like a hammer and ballistically penetrate into the liquid? 3) How does the presence of H2O and O2- in the melt influence the different reaction pathways? These questions address the molecular pathways by which SO2 is removed from waste streams, and they serve to stimulate thinking about gas-ionic liquid reactions at a basic level. It is hoped that these studies will provide an understanding of the chemistry and transfer processes of gases at the surface of melts, especially those important for the conversion of toxic gases to benign species.