Inter-comparison of carbon content in PM10 and PM2.5 measured with two thermo-optical protocols on samples collected in a Mediterranean site

Merico, Eva; Cesari, Daniela; Dinoi, Adelaide; Gambaro, Andrea; Barbaro, Elena; Guascito, Maria Rachele; Giannossa, Lorena Carla; Mangone, Annarosa; Contini, Daniele

doi:10.1007/s11356-019-06117-7

Cited by 24 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Using the (OC/EC) min approach, SOC/OC ratios of 42% in Oporto [52] and 47% in Toulouse [86] have been reported. Galindo et al [87] found annual-mean contributions (38%) of SOC to OC for PM 10 samples in urban Elche, Spain, whereas a 50% SOC fraction to OC mass of PM 2.5 and PM 10 samples was found in Lecce, Italy [88]. Conversely, estimated SOC concentrations of only 16-21% of OC mass in PM 10 samples were estimated at three sites in Berlin, Germany, for the BB-active period [89].…”

Section: Determination Of Primary and Secondary Organic Carbonmentioning

confidence: 98%

Carbonaceous Aerosols in Contrasting Atmospheric Environments in Greek Cities: Evaluation of the EC-tracer Methods for Secondary Organic Carbon Estimation

et al. 2020

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This study examines the carbonaceous-aerosol characteristics at three contrasting urban environments in Greece (Ioannina, Athens, and Heraklion), on the basis of 12 h sampling during winter (January to February 2013), aiming to explore the inter-site differences in atmospheric composition and carbonaceous-aerosol characteristics and sources. The winter-average organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations in Ioannina were found to be 28.50 and 4.33 µg m−3, respectively, much higher than those in Heraklion (3.86 µg m−3 for OC and 2.29 µg m−3 for EC) and Athens (7.63 µg m−3 for OC and 2.44 µg m−3 for EC). The winter OC/EC ratio in Ioannina (6.53) was found to be almost three times that in Heraklion (2.03), indicating a larger impact of wood combustion, especially during the night, whereas in Heraklion, emissions from biomass burning were found to be less intense. Estimations of primary and secondary organic carbon (POC and SOC) using the EC-tracer method, and specifically its minimum R-squared (MRS) variant, revealed large differences between the sites, with a prevalence of POC (67–80%) in Ioannina and Athens and with a larger SOC fraction (53%) in Heraklion. SOC estimates were also obtained using the 5% and 25% percentiles of the OC/EC data to determine the (OC/EC)pri, leading to results contrasting to the MRS approach in Ioannina (70–74% for SOC). Although the MRS method provides generally more robust results, it may significantly underestimate SOC levels in environments highly burdened by biomass burning, as the fast-oxidized semi-volatile OC associated with combustion sources is classified in POC. Further analysis in Athens revealed that the difference in SOC estimates between the 5% percentile and MRS methods coincided with the semi-volatile oxygenated organic aerosol as quantified by aerosol mass spectrometry. Finally, the OC/Kbb+ ratio was used as tracer for decomposition of the POC into fossil-fuel and biomass-burning components, indicating the prevalence of biomass-burning POC, especially in Ioannina (77%).

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Section: Determination Of Primary and Secondary Organic Carbonmentioning

confidence: 98%

Carbonaceous Aerosols in Contrasting Atmospheric Environments in Greek Cities: Evaluation of the EC-tracer Methods for Secondary Organic Carbon Estimation

et al. 2020

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“…Concentrations obtained from collected samples were corrected by subtracting the average levels measured in blank filters. The average uncertainty of the determination of OC was estimated at 5% while that for EC was 10% [51].…”

Section: Gravimetric and Chemical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Source Apportionment of PM2.5 and of its Oxidative Potential in an Industrial Suburban Site in South Italy

et al. 2019

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Some studies suggested a role of the atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and of its oxidative potential (OP) in determining adverse health effects. Several works have focused on characterisation of source contributions to PM OP, mainly using three approaches: correlation between OP and chemical markers of specific sources; use of OP as input variable in source apportionment with receptor models; and multi-linear regression (MLR) between OP and source contributions to PM obtained from receptor models. Up to now, comparison of results obtained with different approaches on the same dataset is scarce. This work aims to perform a OP study of PM2.5 collected in an industrial site, located near a biogas production and combustion plant (in southern Italy), comparing different approaches to investigate the contributions of the different sources to OP. The PM2.5 samples were analysed for determining ions, metals, carbonaceous components, and OP activity with the DTT (dithiotreitol) assay. Results showed that OP normalised in volume (DTTV) is correlated with carbonaceous components and some ions (NO3−, and Ca2+) indicating that PM of combustion, secondary, and crustal origin could contribute to the OP activity. The source apportionment, done with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF5.0) model, identified six sources: secondary sulphate; biomass burning; industrial emissions; crustal; vehicle traffic and secondary nitrate; and sea spray. A MLR analysis between the source’s daily contributions and the daily DTTV values showed a reasonable agreement of the two approaches (PMF and MLR), identifying the biomass burning and the vehicle traffic and secondary nitrate as the main sources contributing to DTTV activity.

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“…Among various elements, the carbonaceous fraction is an important component of particulate matter (PM), generally ranging between 20 and 50% of PM mass [3,4]. Due to both climate and human health implications, there is growing scientific interest in understanding and developing processes involving atmospheric carbon [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbonaceous Aerosols Collected at the Observatory of Monte Curcio in the Southern Mediterranean Basin

et al. 2019

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This work provides the first continuous measurements of carbonaceous aerosol at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Monte Curcio regional station, within the southern Mediterranean basin. We specifically analyzed elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations in particulate matter (PM) samples, collected from April to December during the two years of 2016 and 2017. The purpose of the study is to understand the behavior of both PM and carbonaceous species, in their fine and coarse size fraction, along with their seasonal variability. Based on 18 months of observations, we obtained a dataset that resulted in a vast range of variability. We found the maximum values in summer, mainly related to the enhanced formation of secondary pollutants owing to intense solar radiation, also due to the high frequency of wildfires in the surrounding areas, as well as to the reduced precipitation and aerosol-wet removal. We otherwise observed the lowest levels during fall, coinciding with well-ventilated conditions, low photochemical activity, higher precipitation amounts, and less frequency of Saharan dust episodes. We employed the HYSPLIT model to identify long-range transport from Saharan desert. We found that the Saharan dust events caused higher concentrations of PM and OC in the coarser size fraction whereas the wildfire events likely influenced the highest PM, OC, and EC concentrations we recorded for the finer fraction.

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Inter-comparison of carbon content in PM10 and PM2.5 measured with two thermo-optical protocols on samples collected in a Mediterranean site

Cited by 24 publications

References 70 publications

Carbonaceous Aerosols in Contrasting Atmospheric Environments in Greek Cities: Evaluation of the EC-tracer Methods for Secondary Organic Carbon Estimation

Carbonaceous Aerosols in Contrasting Atmospheric Environments in Greek Cities: Evaluation of the EC-tracer Methods for Secondary Organic Carbon Estimation

Source Apportionment of PM2.5 and of its Oxidative Potential in an Industrial Suburban Site in South Italy

Carbonaceous Aerosols Collected at the Observatory of Monte Curcio in the Southern Mediterranean Basin

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