Carbonaceous aerosols in PM10 and pollution gases in winter in Beijing

An intensive observation of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM10 and gaseous materials (SO2, CO, and O3) was conducted continuously to assess the characteristics of wintertime carbonaceous aerosols in an urban area of Beijing, China. Results showed that the averaged total carbon (TC) and PM10 concentrations in observation period are 30.2 +/- 120.4 and 172.6 +/- 198.3 microg/m3, respectively. Average OC concentration in nighttime (24.9 +/- 19.6 microg/m3) was 40% higher than that in daytime (17.7 +/- 10.9 microg/m3). Average EC concentrations in daytime (8.8 +/- 15.2 microg/m3) was close to that in nighttime (8.9 +/- 15.1 microg/m3). The OC/EC ratios in nighttime ranging from 2.4 to 2.7 are higher than that in daytime ranging from 1.9 to 2.0. The concentrations of OC, EC, PM10 were low with strong winds and high with weak winds. The OC and EC were well correlated with PM10, CO and SO2, which implies they have similar sources. OC and EC were not well correlated with 03. By considering variation of OC/EC ratios in daytime and night time, correlations between OC and O3, and meteorological condition, we speculated that OC and EC in Beijing PM10 were emitted as the primary particulate form. Emission of motor vehicle with low OC/EC ratio and coal combustion sources with high OC/EC ratio are probably the dominant sources for carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing in winter. A simple ratio method was used to estimate the relative contribution of sources to carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing PM10. Motor vehicle source accounts for 80% and 68%, while coal combustion accounts for 20% and 32% in daytime and nighttime, respectively in Beijing. Averagely, the motor vehicle and coal combustion accounted for 74% and 26%, respectively, for carbonaceous aerosols during the observation period. It points to the motor vehicle is dominant emission for carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing PM10 in winter period, which should be paid attention to control high level of PM10 in Beijing effectively.