scholarly journals Quantification of Non-Exhaust Particulate Matter Traffic Emissions and the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown at London Marylebone Road

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
William Hicks ◽  
Sean Beevers ◽  
Anja H. Tremper ◽  
Gregor Stewart ◽  
Max Priestman ◽  
...  

This research quantifies current sources of non-exhaust particulate matter traffic emissions in London using simultaneous, highly time-resolved, atmospheric particulate matter mass and chemical composition measurements. The measurement campaign ran at Marylebone Road (roadside) and Honor Oak Park (background) urban monitoring sites over a 12-month period between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020. The measurement data were used to determine the traffic increment (roadside–background) and covered a range of meteorological conditions, seasons, and driving styles, as well as the influence of the COVID-19 “lockdown” on non-exhaust concentrations. Non-exhaust particulate matter (PM)10 concentrations were calculated using chemical tracer scaling factors for brake wear (barium), tyre wear (zinc), and resuspension (silicon) and as average vehicle fleet non-exhaust emission factors, using a CO2 “dilution approach”. The effect of lockdown, which saw a 32% reduction in traffic volume and a 15% increase in average speed on Marylebone Road, resulted in lower PM10 and PM2.5 traffic increments and brake wear concentrations but similar tyre and resuspension concentrations, confirming that factors that determine non-exhaust emissions are complex. Brake wear was found to be the highest average non-exhaust emission source. In addition, results indicate that non-exhaust emission factors were dependent upon speed and road surface wetness conditions. Further statistical analysis incorporating a wider variability in vehicle mix, speeds, and meteorological conditions, as well as advanced source apportionment of the PM measurement data, were undertaken to enhance our understanding of these important vehicle sources.

Atmosphere ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Haoran Zhai ◽  
Jiaqi Yao ◽  
Guanghui Wang ◽  
Xinming Tang

Based on measurement data from air quality monitoring stations, the spatio-temporal characteristics of the concentrations of particles with aerodynamic equivalent diameters smaller than 2.5 and 10 μm (PM2.5 and PM10, respectively) in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region from 2015 to 2018 were analysed at yearly, seasonal, monthly, daily and hourly scales. The results indicated that (1) from 2015 to 2018, the annual average values of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio in the study area decreased each year; (2) the particulate matter (PM) concentration in winter was significantly higher than that in summer, and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio was highest in winter and lowest in spring; (3) the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations exhibited a pattern of double peaks and valleys throughout the day, reaching peak values at night and in the morning and valleys in the morning and afternoon; and (4) with the use of an improved sine function to simulate the change trend of the monthly mean PM concentration, the fitting R2 values for PM2.5 and PM10 in the whole study area were 0.74 and 0.58, respectively. Moreover, the high-value duration was shorter, the low-value duration was longer, and the concentration decrease rate was slower than the increase rate.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Ballikaya ◽  
Ivano Brunner ◽  
Claudia Cocozza ◽  
Ralf Kaegi ◽  
Marcus Schaub ◽  
...  

<p>Industrial activities and human population growth have resulted in an unprecedented increase in the release of particulate matter (PM) into the environment. Incidental nanoparticles (NPs) as a byproduct of industrial processes and engineered NPs are being discharged into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Several studies on the impact of PM and NPs on human health have been conducted this century, but their effects on plants are poorly understood. What happens to them in forest ecosystems and trees has yet to be explored. The use of dendrochemistry to monitor air pollution is essential to provide past levels of contamination. Several studies have shown the ability of trees to accumulate pollutants into their annual rings, but the effect of particles at nano-scale is still largely unknown and their presence in tree rings unexplored.</p><p>In July 2019, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in order a) to confirm the uptake and transport of NPs in trees, b) to determine the delivery efficiency of different NPs entry pathways (leaves and roots), and c) to investigate the influence of surface-charged NPs on their uptake and transport. The fate of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was investigated in two tree species, European beech (<em>Fagus sylvatica</em> L.) and Scots pine (<em>Pinus sylvestris </em>L.). In the experiment, 40nm surface-charged AuNPs (positive, negative, and neutral AuNPs, hereafter referred to as treatments) were supplied once, separately to leaves and to roots. Twenty days after the treatment, Au concentration (mg kg<sup>-1</sup>) in leaves, stem and roots was determined by ICP-MS. In the leaf supply, Au concentrations were higher in leaves (98.3% and 99.2% on average, in beech and Scots pine respectively) and stems (1.4% and 0.45% on average) than in roots (0.3% and 0.35% on average). In the root supply, higher Au concentration was found in the roots (99.9 % on average in both species) than in the stems (0.1% on average in both species), whereas gold was not detected in the leaves. In the majority of cases, the measured Au was greater in beech than in Scots pine, probably due to their higher stomatal activity. AuNP concentrations among the treatments were significantly different (p value < 0.05), but distribution pattern in Scots pine were not discernible. In conclusion, AuNPs can be taken up by roots and leaves and transported to different compartments of trees. Different entry pathways influence the NP delivery within the plant tissues through transport mechanisms that are still unclear. It seems that NPs are allowed to move faster from the leaves through the phloem to the xylem and are further distributed throughout the plant system, including to the roots. The influence of surface-charged nanoparticles on their uptake and transport is not completely clear, and further research is needed in order to understand their behavior in trees.</p><p>This study shows the potential of trees as proxies to monitor NPs in forest ecosystems. Using tree rings as spatiotemporal indicators of the impact of particles on the environment will help a quantitative risk assessment and management of atmospheric particulate matter and NPs concentrations in the environment.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 02012
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Piaskowska-Silarska ◽  
Krzysztof Pytel ◽  
Stanisław Gumuła ◽  
Wiktor Hudy

Abstract. The publication presents an assessment of the impact of meteorological conditions on air quality in a given location. The subject matter of the work is related to problem-review issues in the field of environmental protection and energy management. The publication draws attention to the fact that despite several decades of ecological monitoring of air pollution, only in recent years attention has been paid to the scale of air pollution problem. The study examined the relationship between meteorological elements (wind velocity, relative humidity on the amount of air pollution immissions. Significant impact of precipitation, atmospheric pressure and thermal braking layer was indicated. The possibilities of air quality improvement were presented based on the measurement data concerning the immission of impurities.


2008 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Célia A. Alves

In spite of accounting for 10-70% of the atmospheric aerosol mass, particulate-phase organic compounds are not well characterised, and many aspects of aerosol formation and evolution are still unknown. The growing awareness of the impact of particulate aerosols on climate, and the incompletely recognised but serious effects of anthropogenic constituents on air quality and human health, have conducted to several scientific studies. These investigations have provided information about the behaviour of atmospheric particulate matter and the description of the character of its carbonaceous content. The compilation of such results is important as they append to the emergent global-wide dataset of the organic composition of atmospheric aerosols. The contribution of the major emission sources to regional particulate pollution can be diagnosed by using specific molecular markers. This overview is mainly focused on results obtained with gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, since it is the analytical method of choice in elucidating the solvent-extractable organic compounds in atmospheric particulate matter. A synopsis of the selection of organic tracers and the application of geochemical parameters to the analysis of organic constituents as a tool for source apportionment is shown here. Besides the assessment of current knowledge, this paper also presents the identification of further areas of concern.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1356
Author(s):  
Beatrice Moroni ◽  
Stefano Crocchianti ◽  
Federica Bruschi ◽  
Chiara Petroselli ◽  
Alessandro Di Menno di Bucchianico ◽  
...  

Minimetrò (MM) is a ropeway public mobility system that has been in operation in the city of Perugia for about ten years to integrate with urban mobility and lighten vehicular traffic in the historic city center. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the impact of MM as a source of pollutants in the urban context, and the exposure of people in the cabins and the platforms along the MM line. These topics have been investigated by means of intensive measurement and sampling campaigns performed in February and June 2015 on three specific sites of the MM line representative of different sources and levels of urban pollution. Stationary and dynamic measurements of particle size distribution, nanoparticle and black carbon aerosol number and mass concentrations measurements were performed by means of different bench and portable instruments. Aerosol sampling was carried out using low volume and high-volume aerosol samplers, and the samples nalysed by off-line methods. Results show that MM is a considerable source of atmospheric particulate matter having characteristics very similar to those of the common urban road dust in Perugia. In the lack of clear indications on road dust effect, the contribution of MM to the aerosol in Perugia cannot be neglected.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3763-3809 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Klose ◽  
W. Birmili ◽  
J. Voigtländer ◽  
T. Tuch ◽  
B. Wehner ◽  
...  

Abstract. A biennial dataset of ambient particle number size distributions (diameter range 4–800 nm) collected in urban air in Leipzig, Germany, was analysed with respect to the influence of traffic emissions. Size distributions were sampled continuously in 2005 and 2006 inside a street canyon trafficked by ca. 10 000 motor vehicles per day, and at a background reference site distant at 1.5 km. Auto-correlation analysis showed that the impact of fresh traffic emissions could be seen most intensely below particle sizes of 60 nm. The traffic-induced concentration increment at roadside was estimated by subtracting the urban background values from the street canyon measurement. To describe the variable dispersion conditions inside the street canyon, micro-meteorological dilution factors were calculated using the Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM), driven by above-roof wind speed and wind direction observations. The roadside increment concentrations, dilution factor, and real-time traffic counts were used to calculate vehicle emission factors (aerosol source rates) that are representative of the prevailing driving conditions, i.e. stop-and-go traffic including episodes of fluent traffic flow at speeds up to 40 km h−1. The size spectrum of traffic-derived particles was essentially bimodal – with mode diameters around 12 and 100 nm, while statistical analysis suggested that the emitted number concentration varied with time of day, wind direction, particle size and fleet properties. Significantly, the particle number emissions depended on ambient temperature, ranging between 4.8 (±1.8) and 7.8 (±2.9).1014 p. veh−1 km−1 in summer and winter, respectively. A separation of vehicle types according to vehicle length suggested that lorry-like vehicles emit about 80 times more particle number than passenger car-like vehicles. Using nitrogen oxide (NOx) measurements, specific total particle number emissions of 338 p. (pg NOx)−1 were inferred. The calculated traffic emission factors, considering particle number and size, are anticipated to provide useful input for future air quality and particle exposure modelling in densely populated urban areas.


Author(s):  
Worku Tefera ◽  
Abera Kumie ◽  
Kiros Berhane ◽  
Frank Gilliland ◽  
Alexandra Lai ◽  
...  

The development of infrastructure, a rapidly increasing population, and urbanization has resulted in increasing air pollution levels in the African city of Addis Ababa. Prior investigations into air pollution have not yet sufficiently addressed the sources of atmospheric particulate matter. This study aims to identify the major sources of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and its seasonal contribution in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Twenty-four-hour average PM2.5 mass samples were collected every 6th day, from November 2015 through November 2016. Chemical species were measured in samples and source apportionment was conducted using a chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model that uses particle-phase organic tracer concentrations to estimate source contributions to PM2.5 organic carbon (OC) and the overall PM2.5 mass. Vehicular sources (28%), biomass burning (18.3%), plus soil dust (17.4%) comprise about two-thirds of the PM2.5 mass, followed by sulfate (6.5%). The sources of air pollution vary seasonally, particularly during the main wet season (June–September) and short rain season (February–April): From motor vehicles, (31.0 ± 2.6%) vs. (24.7 ± 1.2%); biomass burning, (21.5 ± 5%) vs. (14 ± 2%); and soil dust, (11 ± 6.4%) vs. (22.7 ± 8.4%), respectively, are amongst the three principal sources of ambient PM2.5 mass in the city. We suggest policy measures focusing on transportation, cleaner fuel or energy, waste management, and increasing awareness on the impact of air pollution on the public’s health.


2014 ◽  
Vol 881-883 ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Peng Ge

The emission factors and emission profiles of wood combustion tracers of different wood types were assessed. Emission profiles are additionally assessed for two advanced oven/boiler types. The emission profiles and emission ratios of wood smoke tracers to the PM emission of wood fires for the major tree species were established. From this a wood smoke profile will be derived which will be used to assess the impact of wood smoke to selected PM10 and PM2.5 sampling sites. Furthermore, using the energy-normalised PM mass emission data from different types of wood combustion appliances PM reduction scenarios will be assessed with the goal of a sustainable use of wood or wood-based fuels.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 6319-6334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Yingjun Chen ◽  
Chongguo Tian ◽  
Diming Lou ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
...  

Abstract. Shipping emissions have significant influence on atmospheric environment as well as human health, especially in coastal areas and the harbour districts. However, the contribution of shipping emissions on the environment in China still need to be clarified especially based on measurement data, with the large number ownership of vessels and the rapid developments of ports, international trade and shipbuilding industry. Pollutants in the gaseous phase (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, total volatile organic compounds) and particle phase (particulate matter, organic carbon, elemental carbon, sulfates, nitrate, ammonia, metals) in the exhaust from three different diesel-engine-powered offshore vessels in China (350, 600 and 1600 kW) were measured in this study. Concentrations, fuel-based and power-based emission factors for various operating modes as well as the impact of engine speed on emissions were determined. Observed concentrations and emission factors for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, total volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter were higher for the low-engine-power vessel (HH) than for the two higher-engine-power vessels (XYH and DFH); for instance, HH had NOx EF (emission factor) of 25.8 g kWh−1 compared to 7.14 and 6.97 g kWh−1 of DFH, and XYH, and PM EF of 2.09 g kWh−1 compared to 0.14 and 0.04 g kWh−1 of DFH, and XYH. Average emission factors for all pollutants except sulfur dioxide in the low-engine-power engineering vessel (HH) were significantly higher than that of the previous studies (such as 30.2 g kg−1 fuel of CO EF compared to 2.17 to 19.5 g kg−1 fuel in previous studies, 115 g kg−1 fuel of NOx EF compared to 22.3 to 87 g kg−1 fuel in previous studies and 9.40 g kg−1 fuel of PM EF compared to 1.2 to 7.6 g kg−1 fuel in previous studies), while for the two higher-engine-power vessels (DFH and XYH), most of the average emission factors for pollutants were comparable to the results of the previous studies, engine type was one of the most important influence factors for the differences. Emission factors for all three vessels were significantly different during different operating modes. Organic carbon and elemental carbon were the main components of particulate matter, while water-soluble ions and elements were present in trace amounts. The test inland ships and some test offshore vessels in China always had higher EFs for CO, NOx, and PM than previous studies. Besides, due to the significant influence of engine type on shipping emissions and that no accurate local EFs could be used in inventory calculation, much more measurement data for different vessels in China are still in urgent need. Best-fit engine speeds during actual operation should be based on both emission factors and economic costs.


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