Characterisation and source apportionment of atmospheric organic and elemental carbon in an urban–rural fringe area of Taiyuan, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Ling Mu ◽  
Mei Tian ◽  
Lirong Zheng ◽  
Xuemei Li ◽  
Danhua Jing
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Vehicle Emissions ◽  
Elemental Carbon ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Source Analysis ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Fringe Area

Environmental contextCarbonaceous aerosols are major components of atmospheric fine-particulate material. We studied the characteristics and sources of carbonaceous aerosols in the urban–rural fringe area of Taiyuan, China, and found that pollutant levels were generally higher than in similar areas of northern China, and that vehicle emissions were the dominant source. The study highlights the importance of source analysis to help control pollution from particulate matter in the ambient air. AbstractThe concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were measured in 2017 at an urban–rural fringe area of Taiyuan. The annual average concentrations of PM2.5, OC and EC were 143±56, 13±8 and 10±6μgm−3 respectively, which were higher than those in most northern suburban and rural areas in China. Long-range transport and local resuspended dust caused by strong winds during the spring contributed strongly to PM2.5 mass concentrations. The OC and EC concentrations exhibited strong seasonal variations, with higher values in winter and spring, while poor correlations between OC and EC indicated the complexity of aerosol particle sources in winter and spring. Absolute principal component analysis (APCA) using eight carbon fractions was applied to determine the source contributions of total carbon (TC) in PM2.5. During winter, 61% of TC was attributed to mixed sources from coal combustion, biomass combustion and secondary organic carbon (SOC) formation, 23% to vehicle emissions, and 10% to regional origins. During spring, 57% of TC was attributed to vehicle exhaust, 18% to regional transport and SOC formation, and 13% to biomass burning. Comparative studies of hazy and non-hazy periods revealed the significance of SOC formation during hazy days.

scholarly journals Thermal-optical analysis for the measurement of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) in ambient air a literature review

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 9649-9712 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Karanasiou ◽  
M. C. Minguillón ◽  
M. Viana ◽  
A. Alastuey ◽  
J.-P. Putaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Elemental Carbon ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Correction Method ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Light Transmittance ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
Optical Analysis ◽  
The Difference

Abstract. Thermal-optical analysis is currently under consideration by the European standardization body (CEN) as the reference method to quantitatively determine organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in ambient air. This paper presents an overview of the critical parameters related to the thermal-optical analysis including thermal protocols, critical factors and interferences of the methods examined, method inter-comparisons, inter-laboratory exercises, biases and artifacts, and reference materials. The most commonly used thermal protocols include NIOSH-like, IMPROVE_A and EUSAAR_2 protocols either with light transmittance or reflectance correction for charring. All thermal evolution protocols are comparable for total carbon (TC) concentrations but the results vary significantly concerning OC and especially EC concentrations. Thermal protocols with a rather low peak temperature in the inert mode like IMPROVE_A and EUSAAR_2 tend to classify more carbon as EC compared to NIOSH-like protocols, while charring correction based on transmittance usually leads to smaller EC values compared to reflectance. The difference between reflectance and transmittance correction tends to be larger than the difference between different thermal protocols. Nevertheless, thermal protocols seem to correlate better when reflectance is used as charring correction method. The difference between EC values as determined by the different protocols is not only dependent on the optical pyrolysis correction method, but also on the chemical properties of the samples due to different contributions from various sources. The overall conclusion from this literature review is that it is not possible to identify the "best" thermal-optical protocol based on literature data only, although differences attributed to the methods have been quantified when possible.

scholarly journals Contributions of biomass/biofuel burning to organic aerosols and particulate matter in Tanzania, East Africa, based on analyses of ionic species, organic and elemental carbon, levoglucosan and mannosan

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 10325-10338 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Mkoma ◽  
K. Kawamura ◽  
P. Q. Fu
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Elemental Carbon ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Rural Site ◽  
Pm2.5 And Pm10

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol samples of PM2.5 and PM10 were collected at a rural site in Tanzania, East Africa, in 2011 during wet and dry seasons and were analysed for carbonaceous components, levoglucosan, mannosan and water-soluble inorganic ions. The contributions of biomass/biofuel burning to the organic carbon (OC) and particulate matter (PM) mass were estimated to be 46–52% and 87–13%, respectively. The mean mass concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were 28 ± 6 μg m−3 and 47 ± 8 μg m−3 in wet season, and 39 ± 10 μg m−3 and 61 ± 19 μg m−3 in dry season, respectively. Total carbon (TC) accounted for 16–19% of the PM2.5 mass and 13–15% of the PM10 mass. On average, 86 to 89% of TC in PM2.5 and 87 to 90% of TC in PM10 was OC, of which 67–72% and 63% was found to be water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in PM2.5 and PM10, respectively. We found that concentrations of levoglucosan and mannosan (specific organic tracers of pyrolysis of cellulose) well correlated with non-sea-salt potassium (nss-K+) (r2 = 0.56–0.75), OC (r2 = 0.75–0.96) and WSOC (r2 = 0.52–0.78). The K+ / OC ratios varied from 0.06 to 0.36 in PM2.5 and from 0.03 to 0.36 in PM10 with slightly higher ratios in dry season. Mean percent ratios of levoglucosan and mannosan to OC were found to be 3–4% for PM2.5 and PM10 in both seasons. We found lower levoglucosan / K+ ratios and higher K+ / EC (elemental carbon) ratios in the biomass-burning aerosols from Tanzania than those reported from other regions. This feature is consistent with the high levels of potassium reported in the soils of Morogoro, Tanzania, suggesting an importance of direct emission of potassium by soil resuspension although K+ is present mostly in fine particles. It is also likely that biomass burning of vegetation of Tanzania emits high levels of potassium that may be enriched in plant tissues. The present study demonstrates that emissions from mixed biomass- and biofuel-burning activities largely influence the air quality in Tanzania.

scholarly journals Research on Organic Carbon and Elemental Carbon Distribution Characteristics and Their Influence on Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in Changchun City

Environments ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju Wang ◽  
Anan Yu ◽  
Le Yang ◽  
Chunsheng Fang
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Elemental Carbon ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Average Concentration ◽  
Distribution Characteristics ◽  
Heating Period ◽  
Annual Average ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Changchun City

In order to understand the distribution characteristics of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM2.5 in Changchun; China; PM2.5 samples were collected from April 2017 to December 2017 using the KC-120H particulate matter sampler; and the NIOSH 5040 method was used for determination. The results showed that the average concentration of PM2.5 in Changchun was 45.92 µg/m3 (45.92 ± 50.17), and the annual average concentrations of OC and EC ranged from 15.69 to 24.32 µg/m3 and from 1.38 to 2.33 µg/m3; respectively. The annual OC/EC ratio range was 8.08–15.44; with an average of 11.70. OC and EC concentrations in spring were the lowest; whereas higher levels of both OC and EC were found in winter. Significant correlations between OC and EC were found in the non-heating period; indicating that there was a consistent or similar source; whereas OC was non-significantly correlated with EC in the heating period; suggesting that contributions of OC were from unrelated combustion sources.

scholarly journals Exposure to chemical components of fine particulate matter and ozone, and placenta-mediated pregnancy complications in Tokyo: a register-based study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takehiro Michikawa ◽  
Seiichi Morokuma ◽  
Shin Yamazaki ◽  
Akinori Takami ◽  
Seiji Sugata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Pregnancy Complications ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Network Database ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations

Abstract Background Maternal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was associated with pregnancy complications. However, we still lack comprehensive evidence regarding which specific chemical components of PM2.5 are more harmful for maternal and foetal health. Objective We focused on exposure over the first trimester (0–13 weeks of gestation), which includes the early placentation period, and investigated whether PM2.5 and its components were associated with placenta-mediated pregnancy complications (combined outcome of small for gestational age, preeclampsia, placental abruption, and stillbirth). Methods From 2013 to 2015, we obtained information, from the Japan Perinatal Registry Network database, on 83,454 women who delivered singleton infants within 23 Tokyo wards (≈627 km2). Using daily filter sampling of PM2.5 at one monitoring location, we analysed carbon and ion components, and assigned the first trimester average of the respective pollutant concentrations to each woman. Results The ORs of placenta-mediated pregnancy complications were 1.14 (95% CI = 1.08–1.22) per 0.51 μg/m3 (interquartile range) increase of organic carbon and 1.11 (1.03–1.18) per 0.06 μg/m3 increase of sodium. Organic carbon was also associated with four individual complications. There was no association between ozone and outcome. Significance There were specific components of PM2.5 that have adverse effects on maternal and foetal health.

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