Characterization and contribution to PM2.5 of semi-volatile aerosols in Paris (France)

Collocated PM_2.5 measurements using a conventional R&P TEOM (model 1400a) and a TEOM-FDMS were performed at a Paris urban background site during winter/summer field experiments. Results showed that conventional TEOM underestimates PM_2.5 mass concentrations by about 50% in winter and 35% in summer. They also confirmed that this negative sampling artifact, due to the volatilization of semi-volatile material (SVM) inside the instrument, cannot be accurately accommodated by a single correction factor because of SVM routine fluctuations. A basic filter-based investigation of the SVM chemical composition also indicated that SVM, measured by the TEOM–FDMS, is mainly formed by ammonium nitrate in winter while significant contributions of semi-volatile organic matter were observed in summer. The latter species was found to possibly account for more than 50% of secondary organic aerosol formed during summer afternoons. These findings call for more investigation of the SVM chemical composition, particularly during the summer season, in Paris and in Europe.     

Carbon content of atmospheric aerosols in a residential area during the wood combustion season in Sweden

Carbonaceous aerosol particles were observed in a residential area with wood combustion during wintertime in Northern Sweden. Filter samples were analyzed for elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) content by using a thermo-optical transmittance method. The light-absorbing carbon (LAC) content was determined by employing a commercial Aethalometer and a custom-built particle soot absorption photometer. Filter samples were used to convert the optical signals to LAC mass concentrations. Additional total PM₁₀ mass concentrations and meteorological parameters were measured. The mean and standard deviation mass concentrations were 4.4±3.6 μg m⁻³ for OC, and 1.4±1.2 μg m⁻³ for EC. On average, EC accounted for 10.7% of the total PM₁₀ and the contribution of OC to the total PM₁₀ was 35.4%. Aethalometer and custom-built PSAP measurements were highly correlated (R²=0.92). The hourly mean value of LAC mass concentration was 1.76 μg m⁻³ (median 0.88 μg m⁻³) for the winter 2005–2006. This study shows that the custom-built PSAP is a reliable alternative for the commercial Aethalometer with the advantage of being a low-cost instrument.     

PM2.5 chemical source profiles for vehicle exhaust, vegetative burning, geological material, and coal burning in Northwestern Colorado during 1995

PM_2.5 (particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 μm) chemical source profiles applicable to speciated emissions inventories and receptor model source apportionment are reported for geological material, motor vehicle exhaust, residential coal (RCC) and wood combustion (RWC), forest fires, geothermal hot springs; and coal-fired power generation units from northwestern Colorado during 1995. Fuels and combustion conditions are similar to those of other communities of the inland western US. Coal-fired power station profiles differed substantially between different units using similar coals, with the major difference being lack of selenium in emissions from the only unit that was equipped with a dry limestone sulfur dioxide (SO₂) scrubber. SO₂ abundances relative to fine particle mass emissions in power plant emissions were seven to nine times higher than hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) abundances from geothermal springs, and one to two orders of magnitude higher than SO₂ abundances in RCC emissions, implying that the SO₂ abundance is an important marker for primary particle contributions of non-aged coal-fired power station contributions. The sum of organic and elemental carbon ranged from 1% to 10% of fine particle mass in coal-fired power plant emissions, from 5% to 10% in geological material, >50% in forest fire emissions, >60% in RWC emissions, and >95% in RCC and vehicle exhaust emissions. Water-soluble potassium (K⁺) was most abundant in vegetative burning profiles. K⁺/K ratios ranged from 0.1 in geological material profiles to 0.9 in vegetative burning emissions, confirming previous observations that soluble potassium is a good marker for vegetative burning.     

The characterization of water-soluble inorganic ions in PM2.5 during a winter period in Xi'an,China

The characteristics of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs) during a winter period in a suburb of Xi'an, China, were investigated. Our results show that the total mass concentration of the dominant WSIIs (8) was 91.27 µg m^–3, accounting for 50.1% of the total mass concentration of PM_2.5 (particulates with a size of 2.5 µm or less). Secondary inorganic aerosols (SO₄^2?, NO₃^? and NH₄⁺) were the most abundant ions, accounting for up to 95.12% of the total ions. By using the anion and cation equivalence ratio method, PM_2.5 was shown to have weak alkalinity, and the chemical forms of WSIIs were mainly (NH₄)₂SO₄ and NH₄NO₃. The sulfur oxidation ratio (SOR) and nitrogen oxidation ratio (NOR) suggested that larger proportions of SO₄^2? and NO₃^? were formed by gas-phase SO₂ and NO₂ in the sampling site. Ratio analysis also indicated that anthropogenic sources significantly contributed to WSII pollution. Among the anthropogenic sources, fixed pollution sources were found to be dominant over mobile sources.     

The contribution of PM2.5 to cardiovascular disease in China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - China is experiencing rapid urbanization and industrialization with correspondingly high levels of air pollution. Although the harm of PM2.5 has been...     

PM2.5 aerosols collected in the Antarctic Peninsula with a solar powered sampler during austral summer periods

Collection of PM2.5 particles was carried out in Antarctica in the summer periods of years 2006 and 2007 using solar panels to operate the sampling unit. The unit was installed 2.5 km from the B. O'Higgins Chilean base to avoid possible air contamination from oil or gas burning electric power stations. The aerosols were analyzed by XRF identifying twenty elements between Na and Sr. Results showed the presence of elements of typical Earth crust and seawater origins. In addition, considerable amounts of non-sea sulfur together with traces of Pb and Se from probable long distant anthropogenic activities were observed.     

Characteristics and sources of PM2.5 and carbonaceous species during winter in Taiyuan,China

Continuous observation of PM_2.5 was conducted in Taiyuan, a heavily polluted city in China, during high pollution season from December 2005 to February 2006. The results of this study showed that PM_2.5 and carbonaceous species pollution were serious during winter in Taiyuan. The organic carbon (OC) and element carbon (EC) were accounted for 18.6±11.2% and 2.9±1.6% of PM_2.5, respectively, which indicated that carbonaceous aerosols were key components for control fine particles pollution in Taiyuan. Coal combustion was a dominant source of OC and EC of PM_2.5 in the urban area of Taiyuan during winter. The impact of local and remote particle sources on urban air quality was assessed using PM_2.5 concentration rose and 3-day back trajectories of air masses arriving at Taiyuan. The meteorological conditions were found to affect the ambient concentrations of PM_2.5, OC, EC and OC/EC ratio.     

Metallic characteristics of PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 for clustered Aeolian Dust Episodes occurred in an extensive fluvial basin during rainy season

Aeolian dust episodes (ADEs) have been an emergency disaster in the Kaoping River Valley during the rainy season (May-September), which can severely deteriorate ambient particulate air quality in the region surrounding the Kaoping River. Thus, this study aims to characterize the metallic fingerprint of Aeolian dust (AD) and investigate the effects of ADEs on ambient particulate air quality along the Kaoping River Valley. Four manual sampling sites adjacent to the riverside were selected to collect fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5–10) aerosol samples during and after the ADEs in the periods of six events. A total of 13 metallic elements were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer. With metallic elements analysis and nonparametric statistical methods of Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Kruskal-Wallis test, this study successfully derived the metallic indicators of ADEs. The mass ratios of crustal elements (Fe, Ca, or Al) to reference element (Cd) obtained during the ADEs were much higher than those obtained after the ADEs. High mass ratios of Fe/Cd, Ca/Cd, and Al/Cd in PM2.5-10 were observed on the influenced areas of ADEs. Among them, (Fe/Cd)2.5-10 was proven as the best indicator which can be applied to effectively validate the existence of ADEs and evaluate their influences on ambient air quality. Moreover, PM2.5 concentrations during the ADEs were 3-3.6 fold higher than those after the ADEs. PM2.5 should be a contributor to AD, even though the mass ratios of PM2.5/PM10 ranged from 0.05 to 0.20 during the ADEs. Our findings provide valuable information regarding the characteristics of the AD during the ADEs in the Kaoping River.

Implications: Indicators of (Fe/Cd)_2.5-10 are approximately applied to observe the effects of ADEs. Local governments could realize the mechanisms of S- and NW-type aeolian dust episodes (ADEs). They can cause deterioration in different ways for the regional air quality surrounding Kaoping River Valley. Residents who have been living in the influenced areas can take precautions to prevent damage from aeolian dust. Strategies for curbing ADEs must reduce the area of bare lands by artificial measures in the long period of the sunny days during the rainy season. Future research should examine physical conditions of topsoils and other chemical composition in aeolian dust.     

Identification of dicarboxylic acids and aldehydes of PM10 and PM2.5 aerosols in Nanjing,China

In this study aerosol samples of PM10 and PM2.5 collected from 18 February 2001 to 1 May 2001 in Nanjing, China were analyzed for their water-soluble organic compounds. A series of homologous dicarboxylic acids (C_2–10) and two kinds of aldehydes (methylglyoxal and 2-oxo-malonaldehyde) were detected by GC and GC/MS. Among the identified compounds, the concentration of oxalic acid was the highest at all the five sites, which ranged from 178 to 1423 ng/m³. The second highest concentration of dicarboxylic acids were malonic and succinic acids, which ranged from 26.9 to 243 ng/m³. Higher level of azelaic acid was also observed, of which the maximum was 301 ng/m³. As the highest fraction of dicarboxylic acids, oxalic acid comprised from 28% to 86% of total dicarboxylic acids in PM10 and from 41% to 65% of total dicarboxylic acids in PM2.5. The dicarboxylic acids (C₂, C₃, C₄) together accounted for 38–95% of total dicarboxylic acids in PM10 and 59–87% of dicarboxylic acids in PM2.5. In this study, the total dicarboxylic acids accounted for 2.8–7.9% of total organic carbon (TOC) of water-soluble matters for PM10 and 3.4–11.8% of TOC for PM2.5. All dicarboxylic acids detected in this study together accounted for about 1% of particle mass. The concentration of azelaic acid was higher at one site than others, which may be resulted from higher level of volatile fat used for cooking. The amounts of dicarboxyic acids (C_2,3,4,9) and 2-oxo-malonaldehyde of PM2.5 were higher in winter and lower in spring. Compared with other major metropolitans in the world, the level of oxalic acid concentration of Nanjing is much higher, which may be contributed to higher level of particle loadings, especially for fine particles.     

西安市冬、夏两季PM2.5中碳气溶胶的污染特征分析

为研究西安市冬、夏两季大气颗粒物PM2.5中碳组分的污染变化规律,利用TEOM系列RP1400a采样仪于2010年冬季和夏季进行采样,测定了样品中的有机碳(OC)、无机碳(EC)和水溶性有机碳(WSOA)的含量。结果显示,PM2.5中OC和EC的季节平均浓度值冬季较高,分别是夏季的2.62,1.75倍,这表明西安市冬季碳气溶胶污染严重。OC和EC日变化在不同季节均呈现双峰分布特征,这主要是由交通源的排放和不利的气象条件造成的。OC和EC在冬、夏两季都有较强的相关性(R2分别为0.823和0.543),且OC/EC平均值分别为5.36和3.58,均大于2,表明采样各时段有二次有机碳(SOC)生成。     

长春供暖季室内外PM2.5浓度垂直分布与分析

为研究严寒地区供暖季室内外PM_(2.5)浓度的垂直分布,在供暖季分别对长春某高层居住建筑1、8、15、24、33楼层的室内外PM_(2.5)浓度进行监测,研究不同楼层室内外PM_(2.5)的浓度与变化特征。采用随机组分重叠模型(RCS)方法研究各楼层PM_(2.5)渗透因子,采用逐步回归分析方法研究室内PM_(2.5)浓度的各影响因素。结果表明:在供暖季,长春市高层建筑的不同楼层均存在一定的PM_(2.5)污染,室内外PM_(2.5)浓度随楼层升高大体呈现减小的趋势,但差异不显著。室内外PM_(2.5)浓度存在显著的相关性(P 0.05),在没有室内污染源时,室外颗粒物渗透是室内污染的主要来源。室内PM_(2.5)浓度与房间面积等没有显著相关性。     

武汉市冬夏季大气PM2.5浓度及其烃类化合物的变化特征

分析了武汉市2009年冬夏两个季节大气PM2.5的浓度,并用气相色谱/质谱(GC/MS)技术研究了烃类化合物组成及变化特征。结果表明,PM2.5的质量浓度为25.0～302.4μg/m3,冬季明显高于夏季。检测出nC11～nC34正构烷烃,高碳数部分奇偶优势明显,碳优势指数(CPI)在1.1～2.9,具有高等植物蜡和人为源输入特征,冬夏季分布差异较大;藿烷和甾烷的普遍检出证实了大气颗粒物已明显受到化石燃料残余物的污染,且在冬季浓度相对较高;高环数多环芳烃含量较高,特征性诊断参数表明机动车排放相对较大。     

焦作市冬季PM2.5中水溶性离子组成特征及来源解析

为探讨焦作市冬季PM_(2.5)中水溶性离子特征及其来源,于2017年12月至2018年2月在焦作市区连续采集大气颗粒物PM_(2.5)样品,测定其中9种水溶性离子浓度。结果表明,焦作市冬季PM_(2.5)质量浓度为(99.11±73.26)μg/m~3,总水溶性离子质量浓度为(66.88±48.68)μg/m~3,其中NO_3~-、SO_4~(2-)、NH4_+是水溶性离子的主要成分,3者合计占总水溶性离子的81.5%(质量分数)。与清洁天相比,污染天NO_3~-、SO_4~(2-)、NH_4~+在PM_(2.5)中的占比显著增加,表明人为活动排放的二次污染物是焦作市冬季污染天PM_(2.5)的主要贡献成分;随着相对湿度的增加,大气中存在明显的气溶胶二次转化过程;焦作市大气PM_(2.5)移动源贡献大于固定源。焦作市PM_(2.5)中水溶性离子在清洁天主要受工业和生物质燃烧影响,而在污染天主要受气态污染物二次转化影响;后向轨迹聚类显示,采样期间焦作市主要受京津冀地区、西北地区气团影响。     

Characterisation of PM10 atmospheric aerosols for the wet season 2005 at two sites in East Africa

Ambient daily PM₁₀ aerosol samples were collected at two sites in Tanzania in May and June 2005 (during the wet season), and their chemical characteristics were studied. The sites were a rural site in Morogoro and an urban kerbside site in Dar es Salaam. A Gent PM₁₀ stacked filter unit sampler with sequential Nuclepore polycarbonate filters, providing fine and coarse size fractions, and a PM₁₀ sampler with quartz fibre filters were deployed. Parallel collections of 24 h were made with the two samplers and the number of these collections was 13 in Morogoro and 16 in Dar es Salaam. The average mass concentration of PM₁₀ was 27 ± 11 μg/m³ in Morogoro and 51 ± 21 μg/m³ in Dar es Salaam. In Morogoro, the mean concentrations of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were 6.8, 0.51, and 2.8 μg/m³, respectively. In contrast, higher mean concentrations (11.9, 4.6, and 3.3 μg/m³, respectively) were obtained for Dar es Salaam. At both sites, species and elements, such as black carbon, NH₄⁺, non-sea-salt SO₄^2?, K, and Ni (and at Dar es Salaam also V, As, Br, and Pb) were mainly present in the fine size fraction. The common crustal and sea-salt elements, including Na, Mg, Al, Si, Cl, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, and Sr, and also NO₃^? and P (and to a lesser extent Cu and Zn) were concentrated in the coarse particles. Aerosol chemical mass closure indicated that the PM₁₀ mass in Morogoro consisted, on average, of 48% organic matter (OM), 44% crustal matter, 4% sea salt, and 2% EC, while in Dar es Salaam OM, crustal matter, sea salt, and EC represented 37%, 32%, 9%, and 9% of the PM₁₀ mass. The contributions of the secondary inorganic aerosol (non-sea-salt sulphate, nitrate, and ammonium) were small, i.e., only 5% in total at each site. Carbonaceous materials and crustal matter were thus the most important components of the PM₁₀ mass. It is suggested that biomass burning is a major contributor to the OM; at Dar es Salaam there is also a very substantial contribution from traffic. A source apportionment calculation indicated that 68% of the OC at this site originated from traffic exhaust versus 32% from charcoal burning. The crustal matter at Morogoro is likely mainly attributable to soil dust resuspension, whereas in Dar es Salaam it is likely mostly resuspended road dust.     

Using geographically temporally weighted regression to assess the contribution of corruption governance to global PM2.5

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the face of the global haze crisis, exploring the driving force of political factors for controlling minute atmospheric particles has become...     

Determination of the source areas contributing to regionally high warm season PM2.5 in eastern North America

An ensemble-trajectory analysis technique known as Quantitative Transport Bias Analysis was applied to determine which geographic areas systematically contributed to above- and below-average fine particle mass (PM2.5) over eastern North America. Six-hour average measurements from 12 rural or suburban locations in eastern North America collected using a tapered element oscillating microbalance were individually associated with corresponding 3-day back-trajectories for the warm seasons (May-September) of 2000 and 2001. Much of the populated areas of northeastern North America were implicated in the build-up of PM2.5 to above-average concentrations. The finer structure of the Quantitative Transport Bias Analysis pattern indicated that transport from the Ohio River Valley, particularly the eastern portion of this area, was most often associated with the highest PM2.5 concentrations. In addition, air masses originating over a relatively large area from southeast Ohio to the western part of Virginia and the western Kentucky to central Tennessee area tended to result in relatively high PM2.5 concentrations over northeastern North America. These observation-based findings were consistent with the spatial distribution of the main sulfur dioxide emissions sources and the major oxides of nitrogen point sources.     

Estimations of primary and secondary organic carbon formation in PM2.5 aerosols of Santiago City,Chile

High concentration of fine airborne particulates is considered one of the major environmental pollutants in Santiago, the Chilean Capital city, which in 1997 was declared a PM₁₀ saturated zone. To date there is no control of the amounts of fine and coarse aerosols concentrations and the source and chemical characterizations of the PM_2.5 particulates in the carbonaceous fractions are not well known even though this fraction could be represented almost the 50% in mass of the PM_2.5.In this work, we present for the first time determinations of primary organic aerosol (POA) and secondary organic aerosol composition (SOA) fractions of the total mass of PM_2.5 particulates collected in the urban atmosphere of Santiago City. Our purpose is to know the anthropogenic contributions to the formation of SOA. To accomplish this we used the elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) determinations developed by automatic monitoring stations installed in the city during the period 2002–2005, with a particular analysis of the summer time occurred in February 2004. Based on the EC tracer method, we have estimated the POA and SOA fraction and our data permit us to estimate the SOA reaching up to 20% of total organic aerosol matter, in good agreement to other measurements observed in large cities of Europe and U.S.A.     

广州市夏、冬季室内外PM2.5质量浓度的特征

2004年7月2日至8月13日和2004年11月29日至2005年1月6日分别在广州市3种类型区域(一般城市区域、道路旁、工业源附近)9个居民住宅的室内和室外同步采集了PM2.5颗粒.采用标准称重法测定PM2.5质量浓度,得到广州市夏季住宅室内外PM2.5平均质量浓度分别为67.7、74.5 μg/m3,冬季室内外PM2.5平均质量浓度分别为109.9、123.7 μg/m3.广州市PM2.5平均质量浓度,与美国PM2.5标准相比,与国内PM10标准基础上假设的PM2.5限值相比,与其他一些国内、亚洲和欧美城市的文献记录相比,结果均显示广州市PM2.5处于相当严重污染状态.广州市PM2.5质量浓度呈现明显的空间分布特征和季节变化特征;PM2.5室内质量浓度并不总是低于室外质量浓度,反映了室内空气污染的存在.     

长春市供暖季办公建筑室内PM2.5中金属元素的污染特征及风险评估

对长春市供暖季某办公建筑室内PM_(2.5)进行采样,用电感耦合等离子发射光谱法(ICP-OES)对其中金属元素进行检测。采用富集因子法与主成分分析法对PM_(2.5)中的金属元素进行源解析,并对其潜在生态风险和人体健康风险进行评估。结果显示,室内PM_(2.5)中金属元素来源主要有燃煤排放尘、工业过程排放尘、机动车排放尘、室内污染源排放尘及土壤扬尘,5种来源的贡献率分别为27.35%、17.57%、12.44%、8.93%、8.05%。PM_(2.5)中金属元素的综合潜在生态风险指数为1 729.63,存在极强生态危害;金属元素对成人的非致癌暴露量以呼吸摄入为主,对儿童的非致癌暴露量以手口摄入为主,对成人和儿童均具有非致癌风险,但不具有致癌风险。     

Seasonal and spatial variation of organic tracers for biomass burning in PM1 aerosols from highly insolated urban areas

PM₁ aerosol characterization on organic tracers for biomass burning (levoglucosan and its isomers and dehydroabietic acid) was conducted within the AERTRANS project. PM₁ filters (N?=?90) were sampled from 2010 to 2012 in busy streets in the urban centre of Madrid and Barcelona (Spain) at ground-level and at roof sites. In both urban areas, biomass burning was not expected to be an important local emission source, but regional emissions from wildfires, residential heating or biomass removal may influence the air quality in the cities. Although both areas are under influence of high solar radiation, Madrid is situated in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, while Barcelona is located at the Mediterranean Coast and under influence of marine atmospheres. Two extraction methods were applied, i.e. Soxhlet and ASE, which showed equivalent results after GC-MS analyses. The ambient air concentrations of the organic tracers for biomass burning increased by an order of magnitude at both sites during winter compared to summer. An exception was observed during a PM event in summer 2012, when the atmosphere in Barcelona was directly affected by regional wildfire smoke and levels were four times higher as those observed in winter. Overall, there was little variation between the street and roof sites in both cities, suggesting that regional biomass burning sources influence the urban areas after atmospheric transport. Despite the different atmospheric characteristics in terms of air relative humidity, Madrid and Barcelona exhibit very similar composition and concentrations of biomass burning organic tracers. Nevertheless, levoglucosan and its isomers seem to be more suitable for source apportionment purposes than dehydroabietic acid. In both urban areas, biomass burning contributions to PM were generally low (2 %) in summer, except on the day when wildfire smoke arrive to the urban area. In the colder periods the contribution increase to around 30 %, indicating that regional biomass burning has a substantial influence on the urban air quality.