Effect of coal blending on arsenic and fine particles emission during coal combustion

Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) techniques were used to measure the contents of 45 elements in 150 air-filter samples collected by cascade impactor with 8 stages at 10 sites in Beijing-Tianjin area of China during the periods of the winter of 1983 and the summer of 1984. It was noticed that the toxic elements such as As, Sb, Se, Pb, Hg, Cu and Ni were mainly enriched in fine particles with diameter less than 2 um. The major seven sources of coal burning, soil dust, oi1 burning, sea-salt aerosol, motor vehicle emission, limestone dust and industrial refuse attributing to the pollution in Tianjin area were identified by Chemical Elements Balance method (CEB). Among them the most important sources were the soil dust and the emission from coal-combustion followed by contributions from limestone and industrial refuse.

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Isotopic composition for source identification of mercury in atmospheric fine particles

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-11773-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (18) ◽

pp. 11773-11786 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Qiang Huang ◽

Jiubin Chen ◽

Weilin Huang ◽

Pingqing Fu ◽

Benjamin Guinot ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seasonal Variation ◽

Isotopic Composition ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Early Summer ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Photochemical Reduction ◽

Geochemical Parameters ◽

Mass Dependent Fractionation

Abstract. The usefulness of mercury (Hg) isotopes for tracing the sources and pathways of Hg (and its vectors) in atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5) is uncertain. Here, we measured Hg isotopic compositions in 30 potential source materials and 23 PM2.5 samples collected in four seasons from the megacity Beijing (China) and combined the seasonal variation in both mass-dependent fractionation (represented by the ratio 202Hg ∕ 198Hg, δ202Hg) and mass-independent fractionation of isotopes with odd and even mass numbers (represented by Δ199Hg and Δ200Hg, respectively) with geochemical parameters and meteorological data to identify the sources of PM2.5-Hg and possible atmospheric particulate Hg transformation. All PM2.5 samples were highly enriched in Hg and other heavy metals and displayed wide ranges of both δ202Hg (−2.18 to 0.51 ‰) and Δ199Hg (−0.53 to 0.57 ‰), as well as small positive Δ200Hg (0.02 to 0.17 ‰). The results indicated that the seasonal variation in Hg isotopic composition (and elemental concentrations) was likely derived from variable contributions from anthropogenic sources, with continuous input due to industrial activities (e.g., smelting, cement production and coal combustion) in all seasons, whereas coal combustion dominated in winter and biomass burning mainly found in autumn. The more positive Δ199Hg of PM2.5-Hg in spring and early summer was likely derived from long-range-transported Hg that had undergone extensive photochemical reduction. The study demonstrated that Hg isotopes may be potentially used for tracing the sources of particulate Hg and its vectors in the atmosphere.

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Source apportionment of PM<sub>2.5</sub> at a regional background site in North China using PMF linked with radiocarbon analysis: insight into the contribution of biomass burning

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-11249-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (17) ◽

pp. 11249-11265 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Zheng Zong ◽

Xiaoping Wang ◽

Chongguo Tian ◽

Yingjun Chen ◽

Lin Qu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Source Apportionment ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

North China ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Vehicle Emission ◽

Shandong Peninsula ◽

Air Masses ◽

Background Site ◽

Bth Region

Abstract. Source apportionment of fine particles (PM2.5) at a background site in North China in the winter of 2014 was done using statistical analysis, radiocarbon (14C) measurement and positive matrix factorization (PMF) modeling. Results showed that the concentration of PM2.5 was 77.6 ± 59.3 µg m−3, of which sulfate (SO42−) concentration was the highest, followed by nitrate (NO3−), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and ammonium (NH4+). As demonstrated by backward trajectory, more than half of the air masses during the sampling period were from the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, followed by Mongolia and the Shandong Peninsula. Cluster analysis of chemical species suggested an obvious signal of biomass burning in the PM2.5 from the Shandong Peninsula, while the PM2.5 from the BTH region showed a vehicle emission pattern. This finding was further confirmed by the 14C measurement of OC and EC in two merged samples. The 14C result indicated that biogenic and biomass burning emission contributed 59 ± 4 and 52 ± 2 % to OC and EC concentrations, respectively, when air masses originated from the Shandong Peninsula, while the contributions fell to 46 ± 4 and 38 ± 1 %, respectively, when the prevailing wind changed and came from the BTH region. The minimum deviation between source apportionment results from PMF and 14C measurement was adopted as the optimal choice of the model exercises. Here, two minor overestimates with the same range (3 %) implied that the PMF result provided a reasonable source apportionment of the regional PM2.5 in this study. Based on the PMF modeling, eight sources were identified; of these, coal combustion, biomass burning and vehicle emission were the main contributors of PM2.5, accounting for 29.6, 19.3 and 15.9 %, respectively. Compared with overall source apportionment, the contributions of vehicle emission, mineral dust, coal combustion and biomass burning increased when air masses came from the BTH region, Mongolia and the Shandong Peninsula, respectively. Since coal combustion and vehicle emission have been considered as the leading emission sources to be controlled for improving air quality, biomass burning was highlighted in the present study.

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Impacts of coal burning on ambient PM<sub>2.5</sub> pollution in China

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-17-4477-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (7) ◽

pp. 4477-4491 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

Qiao Ma ◽

Siyi Cai ◽

Shuxiao Wang ◽

Bin Zhao ◽

Randall V. Martin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coal Combustion ◽

Power Plants ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Transport Model ◽

National Level ◽

National Average ◽

Primary Concern ◽

High Concentration ◽

Coal Burning ◽

Average Contribution

Abstract. High concentration of fine particles (PM2.5), the primary concern about air quality in China, is believed to closely relate to China's large consumption of coal. In order to quantitatively identify the contributions of coal combustion in different sectors to ambient PM2. 5, we developed an emission inventory for the year 2013 using up-to-date information on energy consumption and emission controls, and we conducted standard and sensitivity simulations using the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. According to the simulation, coal combustion contributes 22 µg m−3 (40 %) to the total PM2. 5 concentration at national level (averaged in 74 major cities) and up to 37 µg m−3 (50 %) in the Sichuan Basin. Among major coal-burning sectors, industrial coal burning is the dominant contributor, with a national average contribution of 10 µg m−3 (17 %), followed by coal combustion in power plants and the domestic sector. The national average contribution due to coal combustion is estimated to be 18 µg m−3 (46 %) in summer and 28 µg m−3 (35 %) in winter. While the contribution of domestic coal burning shows an obvious reduction from winter to summer, contributions of coal combustion in power plants and the industrial sector remain at relatively constant levels throughout the year.

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Mixing state, composition, and sources of fine aerosol particles in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the influence of agricultural biomass burning

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-15-24369-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (17) ◽

pp. 24369-24401 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

W. J. Li ◽

S. R. Chen ◽

Y. S. Xu ◽

X. C. Guo ◽

Y. L. Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fly Ash ◽

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Aerosol Particles ◽

Microscopic Analysis ◽

Organic Coating ◽

Pollution Level ◽

Mixing State

Abstract. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to obtain morphology, size, composition, and mixing state of background fine particles with diameter less than 1 μm in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) during 15 September to 15 October 2013. Individual aerosol particles mainly contained secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA-sulfate and nitrate) and organics during clean periods (PM2.5: particles less than 2.5 μg m−3). The presence of KCl-NaCl associated with organics and an increase of soot particles suggest that an intense biomass burning event caused the highest PM2.5 concentrations (> 30 μg m−3) during the study. A large number fraction of the fly ash-containing particles (21.73 %) suggests that coal combustion emissions in the QTP significantly contributed to air pollutants at the median pollution level (PM2.5: 10–30 μg m−3). We concluded that emissions from biomass burning and from coal combustion both constantly contribute to anthropogenic particles in the QTP atmosphere. Based on size distributions of individual particles in different pollution levels, we found that gas condensation on existing particles is an important chemical process for the formation of SIA with organic coating. TEM observations show that refractory aerosols (e.g., soot, fly ash, and visible organic particles) likely adhere to the surface of SIA particles larger than 200 nm due to coagulation. Organic coating and soot on surface of the aged particles likely influence their hygroscopic and optical properties in the QTP, respectively. To our knowledge, this study reports the first microscopic analysis of fine particles in the background QTP air.

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Effect of Coal Blending on the Leaching Characteristics of Arsenic and Selenium in Fly Ash from Fluidized Bed Coal Combustion

Cleaner Combustion and Sustainable World ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-30445-3_77 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 569-577

Author(s):

F. Jiao ◽

L. Zhang ◽

N. Yamada ◽

A. Sato ◽

Yoshihiko Ninomiya

Keyword(s):

Fly Ash ◽

Fluidized Bed ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Coal Blending ◽

Leaching Characteristics

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First long-term and near real-time measurement of trace elements in China's urban atmosphere: temporal variability, source apportionment and precipitation effect

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-18-11793-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (16) ◽

pp. 11793-11812 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Yunhua Chang ◽

Kan Huang ◽

Mingjie Xie ◽

Congrui Deng ◽

Zhong Zou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trace Elements ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Nonferrous Metal ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Ferrous Metal ◽

Urban Atmosphere ◽

Health Concern ◽

Metal Species ◽

Effective Control ◽

Related Factor

Abstract. Atmospheric trace elements, especially metal species, are an emerging environmental and health concern with insufficient understanding of their levels and sources in Shanghai, the most important industrial megacity in China. Here we continuously performed a 1 year (from March 2016 to February 2017) and hourly resolved measurement of 18 elements in fine particles (PM2.5) at the Shanghai urban center with an Xact multi-metals monitor and several collocated instruments. Mass concentrations (mean ± 1σ; ng m−3) determined by Xact ranged from detection limits (nominally 0.1 to 20 ng m−3) to 15 µg m−3. Element-related oxidized species comprised an appreciable fraction of PM2.5 during all seasons, accounting for 8.3 % on average. As a comparison, the atmospheric elements concentration level in Shanghai was comparable with that in other industrialized cities in East Asia but 1 or 2 orders of magnitude higher than at sites in North America and Europe. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to identify and apportion the sources of the elements in the PM2.5 mass. Five different factors were resolved (notable elements and relative contribution in parentheses): traffic-related (Ca, Fe, Ba, Si; 46 %), shipping (V, Ni; 6 %), nonferrous metal smelting (Ag, Cd, Au; 15 %), coal combustion (As, Se, Hg, Pb; 18 %) and ferrous metal smelting (Cr, Mn, Zn; 15 %). The contribution from the exhaust and non-exhaust vehicle emissions, i.e., the traffic-related factor shows a strong bimodal diurnal profile with average concentration over 2 times higher during the rush hour than during nighttime. The shipping factor was firmly identified because V and Ni, two recognized tracers of shipping emissions, are almost exclusively transported from the East China Sea and their ratio (around 3.2) falls within the variation range of V ∕ Ni ratios in particles emitted from heavy oil combustion. Interestingly, nearly half of the K was derived from coal combustion with high mineral affinity (elements associated with aluminosilicates, carbonates and other minerals in coal ash). The contributions of nonferrous metal smelting to the trace elements are consistent with a newly developed emission inventory. Although the precipitation scavenging effect on the mass concentration of the trace elements varied among different species and sources, precipitation could effectively lower the concentration of the traffic- and coal combustion-related trace elements. Therefore, water spray to simulate natural types of precipitation could be one of the abatement strategies to facilitate the reduction of ambient PM2.5 trace elements in the urban atmosphere. Collectively, our findings in this study provide baseline levels and sources of trace elements with high detail, which are needed for developing effective control strategies to reduce the high risk of acute exposure to atmospheric trace elements in China's megacities.

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Source apportionment of fine organic carbon at an urban site of Beijing using a chemical mass balance model

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-21-7321-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (9) ◽

pp. 7321-7341

Author(s):

Jingsha Xu ◽

Di Liu ◽

Xuefang Wu ◽

Tuan V. Vu ◽

Yanli Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Mass Balance ◽

Source Apportionment ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Inorganic Ions ◽

Balance Model ◽

Urban Site ◽

Chemical Mass Balance

Abstract. Fine particles were sampled from 9 November to 11 December 2016 and 22 May to 24 June 2017 as part of the Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity (APHH-China) field campaigns in urban Beijing, China. Inorganic ions, trace elements, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and organic compounds, including biomarkers, hopanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), n-alkanes, and fatty acids, were determined for source apportionment in this study. Carbonaceous components contributed on average 47.2 % and 35.2 % of total reconstructed PM2.5 during the winter and summer campaigns, respectively. Secondary inorganic ions (sulfate, nitrate, ammonium; SNA) accounted for 35.0 % and 45.2 % of total PM2.5 in winter and summer. Other components including inorganic ions (K+, Na+, Cl−), geological minerals, and trace metals only contributed 13.2 % and 12.4 % of PM2.5 during the winter and summer campaigns. Fine OC was explained by seven primary sources (industrial and residential coal burning, biomass burning, gasoline and diesel vehicles, cooking, and vegetative detritus) based on a chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model. It explained an average of 75.7 % and 56.1 % of fine OC in winter and summer, respectively. Other (unexplained) OC was compared with the secondary OC (SOC) estimated by the EC-tracer method, with correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.58 and 0.73 and slopes of 1.16 and 0.80 in winter and summer, respectively. This suggests that the unexplained OC by the CMB model was mostly associated with SOC. PM2.5 apportioned by the CMB model showed that the SNA and secondary organic matter were the two highest contributors to PM2.5. After these, coal combustion and biomass burning were also significant sources of PM2.5 in winter. The CMB results were also compared with results from the positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of co-located aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) data. The CMB model was found to resolve more primary organic aerosol (OA) sources than AMS-PMF, but the latter could apportion secondary OA sources. The AMS-PMF results for major components, such as coal combustion OC and oxidized OC, correlated well with the results from the CMB model. However, discrepancies and poor agreements were found for other OC sources, such as biomass burning and cooking, some of which were not identified in AMS-PMF factors.

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Aerosol particle morphology of residential coal combustion smoke

Clean Air Journal ◽

10.17159/caj/2014/24/2.7064 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 24-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

T. Makonese ◽

P. Forbes ◽

L. Mudau ◽

H.J. Annegarn

Keyword(s):

Aerosol Particle ◽

Coal Combustion ◽

Fine Particles ◽

Bulk Composition ◽

Particle Morphology ◽

Sampling Interval ◽

Quartz Fibre ◽

University Of Pretoria ◽

The University ◽

Residential Coal

A study carried out at the University of Pretoria characterised aerosol particle morphology of residential coal combustion smoke. The general approach in this study was on individual particle conglomerations because the radiative, environmental, and health effects of particles may depend on specific properties of individual particles rather than on the averaged bulk composition properties. A novel, miniature denuder system, developed and tested at the University of Pretoria, was used to capture particle emissions from the coal fires. The denuder consists of two silicone rubber traps (for gas phase semi-volatile organic compound monitoring) in series separated by a quartz fibre filter (for particle collection). The denuders were positioned 1 m away from the fire and were connected to pumps that sampled ~5 litres of air over a 10 min sampling interval. A JSM 5800LV Scanning Electron Microscope with a Thermo Scientific EDS was used to analyse the structure and morphology of different aerosol samples from the quartz fibre filters. Eight samples from the different fire lighting methods were selected for SEM analysis. The punched samples were sputter coated with gold for ~15 minutes using a K550 Emitech Sputter Coater. Results show that apart from the fine and ultra-fine particles, coal smoke from domestic burning also contains aerosols greater than 5 μm in diameter. Consequently, we describe the potential for generation of ‘giant’ carbonaceous soot conglomerates with outer diameters of 5 to 100 μm. However, the exact mechanism for formation of such large soot conglomerates remains to be determined. We also describe the presence of spherules and solid ‘melted toffee’ irregular surfaces. Circumstantial evidence is used to postulate and discuss the possible modes of formation in terms of condensation, and partial melting. This work provides a description of the modes of formation and transformation of conglomerates originating from low temperature (<8000C) coal combustion.

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