Supplementary material to "Characterization of organic aerosols from a Chinese Mega-City during winter: predominance of fossil fuel combustion"

Abstract. PM2.5 aerosol samples were collected in a typical mega-city in China (Nanjing: 32.21° N and 118.73° E) during winter and analyzed for more than 100 compounds of twelve organic compound classes. The most abundant classes of compounds are n-alkanes (average, 205 ng m−3), followed by fatty acids (76.3 ng m−3), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (64.3 ng m−3), anhydro-sugars (56.3 ng m−3), fatty alcohols (40.5 ng m−3), and phthalate esters (15.2 ng m−3), whereas hydroxy-/polyacids (8.33 ng m−3), aromatic acids (7.35 ng m−3), hopanes (4.19 ng m−3), primary sugars and sugar alcohols (4.15 ng m−3), lignin and resin products (2.94 ng m−3), and steranes (2.46 ng m−3) are less abundant. The carbon preference index of n-alkanes (0.83–1.38) indicated that they were mainly derived from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Diagnostic concentration ratios of organic tracers suggested that PAHs and hopanes are mostly originated from coal burning and traffic emissions, respectively in Nanjing urban area. Positive matrix factorization analysis demonstrated that fossil fuel combustion is the dominant source (28.7 %) in Nanjing winter aerosols. Most of the compounds generally showed higher concentrations in nighttime than in daytime, due to the accumulation process associated with the inversion layers and increased emissions from heavy-duty trucks at night. We conclude that fossil fuel combustion largely influences the winter organic aerosols in urban Nanjing area. Based on the comparison of present results with previous studies, we found that pollution levels on organic aerosols have been decreased in the urban Nanjing atmosphere for the last decade.

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Characterization of organic aerosols from a Chinese megacity during winter: predominance of fossil fuel combustion

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-19-5147-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (7) ◽

pp. 5147-5164 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Md. Mozammel Haque ◽

Kimitaka Kawamura ◽

Dhananjay K. Deshmukh ◽

Cao Fang ◽

Wenhuai Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fossil Fuel ◽

Phthalate Esters ◽

Organic Aerosols ◽

Pollution Source ◽

Fuel Combustion ◽

Oxidation Products ◽

Fossil Fuel Combustion ◽

Pollution Levels ◽

Heavy Trucks ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic

Abstract. PM2.5 aerosol samples were collected from the Chinese megacity of Nanjing (32.21∘ N, 118.73∘ E) during winter and analyzed for a total of 127 compounds from 12 organic compound classes. The most abundant classes of compounds were n-alkanes (mean concentration of 205 ng m−3), followed by fatty acids (76.3 ng m−3), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; 64.3 ng m−3), anhydrosugars (56.3 ng m−3), fatty alcohols (40.5 ng m−3) and phthalate esters (15.2 ng m−3), whereas hydroxy-/polyacids (8.33 ng m−3), aromatic acids (7.35 ng m−3), hopanes (4.19 ng m−3), primary sugars and sugar alcohols (4.15 ng m−3), lignin and resin products (2.94 ng m−3), and steranes (2.46 ng m−3) were less abundant. The carbon preference index of n-alkanes (0.83–1.38) indicated that they had a strong fossil fuel combustion origin. Diagnostic concentration ratios of organic tracers suggested that PAHs and hopanes originated mostly from coal burning and traffic emissions, respectively, in the Nanjing urban area. Positive matrix factorization analysis demonstrated that fossil fuel combustion was the major pollution source (28.7 %), followed by emissions from biomass burning (17.1 %), soil dust (14.5 %) and plastic burning (6.83 %) for Nanjing winter aerosols, although the contribution of secondary oxidation products (32.9 %) was the most abundant. Most of the compounds generally showed higher concentrations at nighttime compared with daytime; this was due to the accumulation process associated with inversion layers and the enhancement of emissions from heavy trucks at night. We conclude that fossil fuel combustion largely influences the winter organic aerosols in urban Nanjing. Based on the comparison of this study's results with previous research, we found that pollution levels in organic aerosols have decreased in the urban Nanjing atmosphere over the last decade.

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Receptor modeling studies for the characterization of PM10 pollution sources in Belgrade

Chemical Industry and Chemical Engineering Quarterly ◽

10.2298/ciceq120104108m ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 18 (4-2) ◽

pp. 623-634 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Zoran Mijic ◽

Andreja Stojic ◽

Mirjana Perisic ◽

Slavica Rajsic ◽

Mirjana Tasic

Keyword(s):

Fossil Fuel ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Absorption Spectrometry ◽

Fuel Combustion ◽

Receptor Modeling ◽

Source Distribution ◽

Fossil Fuel Combustion ◽

Source Regions ◽

Potential Source

The objective of this study is to determine the major sources and potential source regions of PM10 over Belgrade, Serbia. The PM10 samples were collected from July 2003 to December 2006 in very urban area of Belgrade and concentrations of Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry. The analysis of seasonal variations of PM10 mass and some element concentrations reported relatively higher concentrations in winter, what underlined the importance of local emission sources. The Unmix model was used for source apportionment purpose and the four main source profiles (fossil fuel combustion; traffic exhaust/regional transport from industrial centers; traffic related particles/site specific sources and mineral/crustal matter) were identified. Among the resolved factors the fossil fuel combustion was the highest contributor (34%) followed by traffic/regional industry (26%). Conditional probability function (CPF) results identified possible directions of local sources. The potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) receptor models were used to identify spatial source distribution and contribution of regional-scale transported aerosols.

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Molecular characterization of urban organic aerosol in tropical India: contributions of primary emissions and secondary photooxidation

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-10-2663-2010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 2663-2689 ◽

Cited By ~ 134

Author(s):

P. Q. Fu ◽

K. Kawamura ◽

C. M. Pavuluri ◽

T. Swaminathan ◽

J. Chen

Keyword(s):

Organic Compounds ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Terephthalic Acid ◽

Fossil Fuel ◽

Phthalate Esters ◽

Organic Aerosols ◽

Fuel Combustion ◽

Oxidation Products ◽

Significant Source ◽

Fossil Fuel Combustion

Abstract. Organic molecular composition of PM10 samples, collected at Chennai in tropical India, was studied using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Fourteen organic compound classes were detected in the aerosols, including aliphatic lipids, sugar compounds, lignin products, terpenoid biomarkers, sterols, aromatic acids, hydroxy-/polyacids, phthalate esters, hopanes, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and photooxidation products from biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). At daytime, phthalate esters were found to be the most abundant compound class; however, at nighttime, fatty acids were the dominant one. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, C16 fatty acid, and levoglucosan were identified as the most abundant single compounds. The nighttime maxima of most organics in the aerosols indicate a land/sea breeze effect in tropical India, although some other factors such as local emissions and long-range transport may also influence the composition of organic aerosols. However, biogenic VOC oxidation products (e.g., 2-methyltetrols, pinic acid, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid and β-caryophyllinic acid) showed diurnal patterns with daytime maxima. Interestingly, terephthalic acid was maximized at nighttime, which is different from those of phthalic and isophthalic acids. A positive relation was found between 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene (a tracer for plastic burning) and terephthalic acid, suggesting that the field burning of municipal solid wastes including plastics is a significant source of terephthalic acid. Organic compounds were further categorized into several groups to clarify their sources. Fossil fuel combustion (24–43%) was recognized as the most significant source for the total identified compounds, followed by plastic emission (16–33%), secondary oxidation (8.6–23%), and microbial/marine sources (7.2–17%). In contrast, the contributions of terrestrial plant waxes (5.9–11%) and biomass burning (4.2–6.4%) were relatively small. This study demonstrates that, in addition to fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, the open-burning of plastics in urban area also contributes to the organic aerosols in South Asia.

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Characterization of carbon fractions in carbonaceous aerosols from typical fossil fuel combustion sources

Fuel ◽

10.1016/j.fuel.2019.115620 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 254 ◽

pp. 115620 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Caiqing Yan ◽

Mei Zheng ◽

Guofeng Shen ◽

Yuan Cheng ◽

Shexia Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fossil Fuel ◽

Fuel Combustion ◽

Carbonaceous Aerosols ◽

Fossil Fuel Combustion ◽

Carbon Fractions ◽

Combustion Sources

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Molecular characterization of urban organic aerosol in tropical India: contributions of biomass/biofuel burning, plastic burning, and fossil fuel combustion

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-9-21669-2009 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 21669-21716 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

P. Q. Fu ◽

K. Kawamura ◽

C. M. Pavuluri ◽

T. Swaminathan

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Terephthalic Acid ◽

Fossil Fuel ◽

Organic Aerosols ◽

Sea Breeze ◽

Fuel Combustion ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Fossil Fuel Combustion ◽

Municipal Solid Wastes ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic

Abstract. Organic molecular composition of PM10 samples, collected at Chennai in tropical India, was studied using capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Twelve organic compound classes were detected in the aerosols, including aliphatic lipids, sugar compounds, lignin products, terpenoid biomarkers, sterols, aromatic acids, phthalates, hopanes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). At daytime, phthalates was found to be the most abundant compound class; while at nighttime, fatty acids was the dominant one. Concentrations of total quantified organics were higher in summer (611–3268 ng m−3, average 1586 ng m−3) than in winter (362–2381 ng m−3, 1136 ng m−3), accounting for 11.5±1.93% and 9.35±1.77% of organic carbon mass in summer and winter, respectively. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, C16 fatty acid, and levoglucosan were identified as the most abundant single compounds. The nighttime maxima of most organics in the aerosols indicate a land/sea breeze effect in tropical India, although some other factors such as local emissions and long-range transport may also influence the composition of organic aerosols. The abundances of anhydrosugars (e.g., levoglucosan), lignin and resin products, hopanes and PAHs in the Chennai aerosols suggest that biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion are significant sources of organic aerosols in tropical India. Interestingly, terephthalic acid was maximized at nighttime, which is different from those of phthalic and isophthalic acids. A positive correlation was found between the concentration of 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene (a tracer for plastic burning) and terephthalic acid, suggesting that field burning of municipal solid wastes including plastics is a significant source of terephthalic acid. This study demonstrates that, in addition to biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion, the open-burning of plastics also contributes to the organic aerosols in South Asia.

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