3.2. Dust processing in the ISM

Following their injection into the ISM the newly-formed dust particles are subjected to a variety of interstellar processes, that result in the exchange of elements between the gas and dust phases of the ISM. These include:

• thermal sputtering in high-velocity (> 200 km s^-1) shocks;
• evaporation and shattering by grain-grain collisions in lower velocity shocks; and
• accretion in dense molecular clouds.

Detailed description of the various grain destruction mechanisms and grain lifetimes in the ISM were presented by Jones, Hollenbach, & Tielens [36] and recently reviewed by Jones [37].