Characterization of submicron aerosol particles in winter at Albany, New York

A thorough understanding of chemical composition, particle pH, and pollutant emissions is essential to address the climate and human health effects of atmospheric particles. In this study, we used a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer(HR-ToF-AMS)and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer(SMPS) to characterize the composition of submicron particles. Moreover, we applied the ISORROPIA-II model to analyze the particle acidity effect on the compositional characterization of submicron ...     

Chemical characterization and source identification of PM2.5 in Luoyang after the clean air actions

Luoyang is a typical heavy industrial city in China, with a coal-dominated energy structure and serious air pollution. Following the implementation of the clean air actions, the physicochemical characteristics and sources of PM_2.5 have changed. A comprehensive study of PM_2.5 was conducted from October 16, 2019 to January 23, 2020 to evaluate the effectiveness of previous control measures and further to provide theory basis for more effective policies in the future. Results showed that the aerosol pollution in Luoyang in autumn and winter is still serious with the average concentration of 91.1 μg/m³, although a large reduction (46.9%) since 2014. With the contribution of nitrate increased from 12.5% to 25.1% and sulfate decreased from 16.7% to 11.2%, aerosol pollution has changed from sulfate-dominate to nitrate-dominate. High NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ ratio and the increasing of NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ ratio with the aggravation of pollution indicating vehicle exhaust playing an increasingly important role in PM_2.5 pollution in Luoyang, especially in the haze processes. Secondary inorganic ions contributed significantly to the enhancement of PM_2.5 during the pollution period. The high value of Cl⁻/Na⁺ and EC concentration indicate coal combustion in Luoyang is still serious. The top three contributor sources were secondary inorganic aerosols (33.3%), coal combustion (13.6%), and industrial emissions (13.4%). Close-range transport from the western and northeastern directions were more important factors in air pollution in Luoyang during the sampling period. It is necessary to strengthen the control of coal combustion and reduce vehicle emissions in future policies.     

Ozone episodes during and after the 2018 Chinese National Day holidays in Guangzhou: Implications for the control of precursor VOCs

The impact of reducing industrial emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on ozone (O₃) pollution is of wide concern particularly in highly industrialized megacities. In this study, O₃, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and VOCs were measured at an urban site in the Pearl River Delta region during the 2018 Chinese National Day Holidays and two after-holiday periods (one with ozone pollution and another without). O₃ pollution occurred throughout the 7-day holidays even industrial emissions of VOCs were passively reduced due to temporary factory shutdowns, and the toluene to benzene ratios dropped from ∼10 during non-holidays to ∼5 during the holidays. Box model (AtChem2-MCM) simulations with the input of observation data revealed that O₃ formation was all VOC-limited, and alkenes had the highest relative incremental reactivity (RIR) during the holiday and non-holiday O₃ episodes while aromatics had the highest RIR during the non-pollution period. Box model also demonstrated that even aromatics decreased proportionally to levels with near-zero contributions of industrial aromatic solvents, O₃ concentrations would only decrease by less than 20% during the holiday and non-holiday O₃ episodes and ozone pollution in the periods could not be eliminated. The results imply that controlling emissions of industrial aromatic solvents might be not enough to eliminate O₃ pollution in the region, and more attention should be paid to anthropogenic reactive alkenes. Isoprene and formaldehyde were among the top 3 species by RIRs in all the three pollution and non-pollution periods, suggesting substantial contribution to O₃ formation from biogenic VOCs.     

Toxicity of the nerve agent tabun to Daphnia magna, a new experimental species in military toxicology

Daphnia magna, a freshwater microcrustacean, is currently tested as an alternative experimental species in research dealing with nerve agents poisonings treatment. Because of this, the toxicity of the nerve agent tabun (a cyanide-group containing organophosphate) to Daphnia had to be examined by estimating the EC₅₀ values. The immobilization of daphnids was chosen as the end-point. It was found that D. magna is sensitive to small amounts of tabun, even after 15 min exposure, and tabun toxicity increases with time. The estimated EC₅₀ values for 15, 30, 45, and 60 min exposure were as follows: 67.39, 38.10, 26.95, and 21.9 μg l^-1. In addition, the toxicity of media to which tabun was added 24 h before the start of experiments was examined. The results obtained indicate that daphnids can be used in experiments with nerve-agent intoxication treatment.     

宁东基地大气PAHs污染特征及呼吸暴露风险

利用主动观测技术对宁东能源化工基地大气PM_2.5、PM_1.0和气相中的PAHs浓度水平、族谱特征、时空分布及来源进行研究,并基于该观测数据对居民呼吸暴露健康风险进行评估.结果表明,宁东基地大气PM_2.5、PM_1.0及气相中∑₁₆PAHs浓度范围分别为：17.95~325.12ng/m³、12.66~311.96ng/m³和26.33~97.88ng/m³,年均浓度分别为（99.42±117.48）ng/m³、（78.88±100.58）ng/m³和（57.89±47.39）ng/m³.宝丰基地冬夏季大气PM_2.5、PM_1.0和气相中∑₁₆PAHs浓度水平均明显高于英力特;宝丰和英力特基地冬季大气PM_2.5、PM_1.0中∑₁₆PAHs浓度水平均明显高于夏季浓度.宁东基地大气中∑₁₆PAHs的浓度水平要高于国内外其他城市,大气PAHs污染较为严重.源解析表明夏季宁东基地PAHs的主要排放源是工业煤燃烧和机动车尾气,冬季则主要来自工业煤燃烧和木材、薪柴等生物质燃烧排放.宁东基地人群暴露于大气PAHs可能会造成平均冬季每百万人中约有33~2628人罹患癌症,夏季每百万人中约有11~834人罹患癌症的风险.     

Effect of manganese oxide-modified biochar addition on methane production and heavy metal speciation during the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge

Low organic matter content and high heavy metal levels severely inhibit the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sewage sludge. In this study, the effect of added manganese oxide-modified biochar composite (MBC) on methane production and heavy metal fractionation during sewage sludge AD was examined. The MBC could increase the buffering capacity, enhance the methane production and degradation of intermediate acids, buffer the pH of the culture, and stabilize the sewage sludge AD process. The application of MBC positively impacted methane production and the cumulative methane yield increased up to 121.97%, as compared with the control. The MBC addition can improve metal stabilization in the digestate. An optimum MBC dose of 2.36?g was recommended, which would produce up to 121.1?L/kg volatile solids of methane. After the AD process, even though most of the metals accumulated in the residual solids, they could be transformation from the bio-available fractions to a more stable fraction. The total organic- and sulfide-bound and residual fraction content at a 3?g dose of MBC that is 0.12?g/g dry matter were 51.06% and 35.11% higher than the control, respectively. The results indicated that the application of MBC could improve the performance of AD and promote stabilization of heavy metals in sewage sludge post the AD process.     

Emission of intermediate volatility organic compounds from a ship main engine burning heavy fuel oil

Intermediate volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) are crucial precursors of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In this study, gaseous IVOCs emitted from a ship main engine burning heavy fuel oil (HFO) were investigated on a test bench, which could simulate the real-world operations and emissions of ocean-going ships. The chemical compositions, emission factors (EFs) and volatility distributions of IVOC emissions were investigated. The results showed that the main engine burning HFO emitted a large amount of IVOCs, with average IVOC EFs of 20.2–201?mg/kg-fuel. The IVOCs were mainly comprised of unspeciated compounds. The chemical compositions of exhaust IVOCs were different from that of HFO fuel, especially for polycyclic aromatic compounds and alkylcyclohexanes. The volatility distributions of IVOCs were also different between HFO exhausts and HFO fuel. The distinctions in IVOC emission characteristics between HFO exhausts and HFO fuel should be considered when assessing the IVOC emission and related SOA formation potentials from ocean-going ships burning HFO, especially when using fuel-surrogate models.     

Effect of air masses motion on the rapid change of aerosols in marine atmosphere

The impact of air masses motion on marine aerosol properties was investigated using an on-board single particle mass spectrometer(SPAMS) deployed for the determination of single particle size resolved chemical composition over Southeast China Sea. Two aerosol blooms(E1 and E2) were observed during the cruise. High average particle number count occurred in E1(7320), followed by E2(5850), which was more than 100–150 times of the average particle number count during normal periods. Particles were classified as four major sources, including continental source, shipping source, marine source, and transport source based on the mass spectral similarity. Transport source was identified as those particles with high particle number count occurred only during aerosol bloom period. Three sub-types of EC-Ca, OC-Ca, and Al-rich were classified as transport source.EC-Ca was the dominant particles of the transport source, accounting for more than 70%of the total particles in aerosol bloom events. A uni-modal size distribution in the size range of 0.1–2.0 μm was observed during normal period, while a bimodal distribution with a tiny mode(0.3 μm) and a coarse mode between 0.4 and 0.6 μm was present during aerosol bloom. The variation of aerosol source is consistent with air masses back trajectories, for the reason that most of the long-range air trajectories are from the ocean,while short air trajectories originate in the continental regions, which means that air masses have a significant impact on the aerosol physical–chemical properties along their tracks.     

动态膜压法测定江、污混合水体中有机物含量的探讨

用双驱动动态膜压仪测定江、污混合水中有机物含量。通过测定白龙港污水和长江水混合后的膜压和滞回环面积，用它们与相应的经典法CODCr作图，获得了滞回环面积和CODCr之间良好地线性关系，表明用动态膜压法可快速测定混合水中的有机物含量，不须加任何试剂，不会产生二次污染。同时，对实验结果进行了初步的机理探讨。