Characteristics of the main primary source profiles of particulate matter across China from 1987 to 2017

Abstract

Abstract. Based on published literature and typical profiles from the Nankai University source library, a total of 3326 chemical profiles of the main primary sources of ambient particulate matter (PM) across China from 1987 to 2017 are investigated and reviewed to trace the evolution of their main components and identify the main influencing factors concerning their evolution. In general, the source chemical profiles are varied with respect to their sources and are influenced by different sampling methods. The most complicated profiles are likely attributed to coal combustion (CC) and industrial emissions (IE). The profiles of vehicle emissions (VE) are dominated by organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), and vary due to the changing standards of sulfur and additives in gasoline and diesel as well as the sampling methods used. In addition to the sampling methods used, the profiles of biomass burning (BB) and cooking emissions (CE) are also impacted by the different biofuel categories and cooking types, respectively. The variations of the chemical profiles of different sources, and the homogeneity of the subtype source profiles within the same source category are examined using uncertainty analysis and cluster analysis. As a result, a relatively large variation is found in the source profiles of CC, VE, IE, and BB, indicating that these sources urgently require the establishment of local profiles due to their high uncertainties. The results presented highlight the need for further investigation of more specific markers (e.g., isotopes, organic compounds, and gaseous precursors), in addition to routinely measured components, in order to properly discriminate sources. Although the chemical profiles of the main sources have been previously reported in the literature, it should be noted that some of these chemical profiles are currently out of date and need to be updated immediately. Additionally, in the future, specific focus should be placed on the source profile subtypes, especially with respect to local IE in China.

Potential health risks of inhaled toxic elements and risk sources during different COVID-19 lockdown stages in Linfen, China

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Urban aerosol size distributions: a global perspective

“…Regarding the latter, several studies conducted in EU cities have shown that total particle number concentrations can vary as high as a factor of roughly 9 within the same city (Birmili et al, 2013;Buonanno et al, 2011;Mejía et al, 2008;Mishra et al, 2012). Localized spatial variations in urban aerosol PSDs and number concentrations are due in part to the nature of local emission sources near the measurement site and meteorological conditions, including wind speed and direction, temperature, and relative humidity (Baxla et al, 2009;Birmili et al, 2001;Charron and Harrison, 2003;Kaul et al, 2011;Nieto et al, 1994;Rose et al, 2010;Stanier et al, 2004;Swietlicki et al, 2008;Väkevä et al, 2000;Wehner and Wiedensohler, 2003;Weingartner et al, 1997;Yu et al, 2018). Physiochemical processes that can transform an aerosol population over space and time are also very important, such as particle growth due to coagulation and condensation, particle shrinkage due to evaporation, reactive uptake, and wet and dry deposition (Gaston et al, 2014;Limbeck et al, 2003;Lin et al, 2011;Moise and Rudich, 2002;Salma et al, 2011;Tang et al, 2010;Zhu et al, 2002a, b).…”

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