Fine and ultrafine particle-and gas-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons affecting southern Thailand air quality during transboundary haze and potential health effects

Distribution of PM_0.1,PM₁and PM_2.5particle-and gas-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) during the 2019 normal,partial and strong haze periods at a background location in southern Thailand were investigated to understand the behaviors and carcinogenic risks PM₁was the predominant component,during partial and strong haze periods,accounting for 45.1%and 52.9%of total suspended particulate matter,respectively,while during nor mal period the contribution...     

Emissions of particulate matter and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from agricultural diesel engine fueled with degummed, deacidified mixed crude palm oil blends

Mixed crude palm oil(MCPO),the mixture of palm fiber oil and palm kernel oil,has become of great interest as a renewable energy source.It can be easily extracted from whole dried palm fruits.In the present work,the degummed,deacidified MCPO was blended in petroleum diesel at portions of 30% and 40% by volume and then tested in agricultural diesel engines for long term usage.The particulates from the exhaust of the engines were collected every 500 hr using a four-stage cascade air sampler.The 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameters for the first three stages were 10,2.5 and 1μm,while the last stage collected all particles smaller than 1μm.Sixteen particle bounded polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) were analyzed using a high performance liquid chromatography.The results indicated that the size distribution of particulate matter was in the accumulation mode and the pattern of total PAHs associated with fine-particles(< 1μm) showed a dominance of larger molecular weight PAHs(4-6 aromatic rings),especially pyrene.The mass median diameter,PM and total PAH concentrations decreased when increasing the palm oil content,but increased when the running hours of the engine were increased.In addition,Commercial petroleum diesel(PB0) gave the highest value of carcinogenic potency equivalent(BaP eq) for all particle size ranges.As the palm oil was increased,the BaP eq decreased gradually.Therefore the degummed-deacidified MCPO blends are recommended for diesel substitute.     

Impact of transport of fine and ultrafine particles from open biomass burning on air quality during 2019 Bangkok haze episode

Transboundary and domestic aerosol transport during 2018–2019 affecting Bangkok air quality has been investigated. Physicochemical characteristics of size-segregated ambient particles down to nano-particles collected during 2017 non-haze and 2018–2019 haze periods were analyzed. The average PM_2.5 concentrations at KU and KMUTNB sites in Bangkok, Thailand during the haze periods were about 4 times higher than in non-haze periods. The highest average organic carbon and elemental carbon concentrations were 4.6 ± 2.1 µg/m³ and 1.0 ± 0.4 µg/m³, respectively, in PM_0.5–1.0 range at KU site. The values of OC/EC and char-EC/soot-EC ratios in accumulation mode particles suggested the significant influence of biomass burning, while the nuclei and coarse mode particles were from mixed sources. PAH concentrations during 2018–2019 haze period at KU and KMUTNB were 3.4 ± 0.9 ng/m³ and 1.8 ± 0.2 ng/m³, respectively. The PAH diagnostic ratio of PM_2.5 also suggested the main contributions were from biomass combustion. This is supported by the 48-hrs backward trajectory simulation. The higher PM_2.5 concentrations during 2018–2019 haze period are also associated with the meteorological conditions that induce thermal inversions and weak winds in the morning and evening. Average values of benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalency quotient during haze period were about 3–6 times higher than during non-haze period. This should raise a concern of potential human health risk in Bangkok and vicinity exposing to fine and ultrafine particulate matters in addition to regular exposure to traffic emission.     

Characteristics of nanoparticles emitted from burning of biomass fuels

The characteristics of the particles of the smoke that is emitted from the burning ofbiomass fuels were experimentally investigated using a laboratory-scale tube furnace and different types of biomass fuels： rubber wood, whole wood pellets and rice husks. Emitted amounts of particles, particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） and water-soluble organic carbon （WSOC） are discussed relative to the size of the emitted particles, ranging to as small as nano-size （〈70 nm）, and to the rate of heating rate during combustion, differential thermal analysis （DTA） and thermogravimetric analysis （TG） techniques were used to examine the effect of heating rate and biomass type on combustion behaviors relative to the characteristics of particle emissions. In the present study, more than 30% of the smoke particles from the burning ofbiomass fuel had a mass that fell within a range of 〈 100 nm. Particles smaller than 0.43 μm contributed greatly to the total levels of toxic PAHs and WSOC. The properties of these particles were influenced by the fuel component, the combustion conditions, and the particle size. Although TC--DTA results indicated that the heating rate in a range of 10-20℃did not show a significant effect on the combustion properties, there was a slight increase in the decomposition temperature as heating rate was increased. The nano-size particles had the smallest fraction of particle mass and particle-bound PAHs, but nonetheless these particles registered the largest fraction of particle-bound WSOC.     

Particle-bound organic and elemental carbons for source identification of PM < 0.1 µm from biomass combustion

Atmospheric nanoparticles（PM <0.1 μm） are a major cause of environmental problems and also affect health risk.To control and reduce these problems,sources identification of atmospheric particulates is necessary.Combustion of bituminous coal and biomass including rubber wood,palm kernel,palm fiber,rice stubble,rice straw,maize residue,sugarcane leaves and sugarcane bagasse,which are considered as sources of air quality problems in many countries,was performed.Emissions of particle-bound chemic...     

Physicochemical and toxicological characteristics of nanoparticles in aerosols in southern Thailand during recent haze episodes in lower southeast Asia

Transboundary haze from biomass burning is one of the most important air pollutions in Southeast Asia. The most recent serious haze episode occurred in 2015. Southern Thailand was affected by the haze during September to October when the particulate matter concentration hit a record high. We investigated physical and chemical characteristics of aerosols, including concentration and aerosol size distribution down to sub-micron sizes during haze episodes in 2013 and 2015 and, for reference, an insignificant haze period in 2017. The highest total suspended particulates and PM₁₀ levels in Hat Yai city were 340.1 and 322.5 µg/m³. The mass fractions were nanoparticles (< 100 nm) 3.1%-14.8% and fine particles (< 1 µm) 54.6%-59.1%. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon size distributions in haze periods peaked at 0.75 µm and the concentrations are 2-30 times higher than the normal period. High molecular weight (4-6 ring) PAHs during the haze episode contribute to about 56.7%-88.0% for nanoparticles. The average values of benzo(a)pyrene toxic equivalency quotient were 3.34±2.54ng/m³ in the 2015 haze period but only 0.89±0.17 ng/m³ in 2017. It is clear that particles smaller than 1 µm, were highly toxic. Nanoparticles contributed 19.4%-26.0% of total BaP-TEQ, whereas the mass fraction is 13.1%-14.8%. Thus the nanoparticles were more carcinogenic and can cause greater health effect than larger particles. The fraction of BaP-TEQ for nanoparticles during 2017 non-haze period was nearly the same, while the mass fraction was lower. This indicates that nanoparticles are the significant source of carcinogenic aerosols both during haze and non-haze periods.