Marker Compounds Adsorbed on Dust Particles (PM10) Sampled According to Standard EN 12341 in the Outdoor Air Near the Cement Plant

Abstract

Compounds adsorbed onto PM10 in the air near the cement plant were determined. Several side reactions that occur in the hot flue gas stream at the same time as the actual main reactions are also possible. This leads to the formation of traces of organic nitrogen compounds. For the GC/MS determination of polar organic compounds silylation as a derivatization method was used. Organic compounds detected are derivatives of sugars, sugar alcohols, and mono-, di- and tri-carboxylic acids. The composition is characteristic for pollution of the urbane atmosphere. Nitrogen organic compounds formed during the urea thermolytic process in hot cement kiln gases represent parabanic acid, 5-hydroxyhydantoin, 4,5-dihydroxyhydantoin, 5-oxoproline, and cyanuric acid. The inorganic part of aerosols detected includes oxyanions of sulfamic acid, sulfate, sulfite, phosphate, and vanadate(V) with ammonium as a cation. Chemical compositions of particles are crucial to assess the health impacts since the biological responses to aerosols are not always linked with major constituents but rather with toxicologically potent minor components.

Using a Sensitivity Analysis and Spatial Clustering to Determine Vulnerability to Potentially Toxic Elements in a Semiarid City in Northwest Mexico

“…The concentrations of V in the ambient air vary widely between rural and urban areas [65]. In urban areas, the V is strategically important due to its wide use in fossil fuels, steel manufacturing, aircrafts, and cement plants [60,61,66]. This could explain the large V distribution in Figure 5c in Hermosillo.…”