Size-segregated urban particulate matter: mass closure, chemical composition, and primary and secondary matter content

Abstract

Forty-nine components of ambient particulate matter (PM) in size-fractionated PM were investigated at an urban background site in Katowice (Silesian Agglomeration in Southern Poland) in the non-heating season of 2012. PM was analyzed for two groups of carbon compounds (organic (OC) and elemental (EC) carbon, Lab OC-EC Aerosol Analyzer), five major water-soluble ions (NH4+, Cl−, SO42−, NO3−, and Na+ contents in PM water extracts, ion chromatography), 26 elements (X-ray fluorescence spectrometry), and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, gas chromatography). The distributions of the masses of these components among 13 basic PM fractions were determined, and chemical mass closure was checked for each of these fractions separately. The particles having their aerodynamic diameters in the interval 0.03–0.26 μm, the fraction PM0.03–0.26, contributed about 13 % to the total PM mass. This PM fraction consisted of primary particles predominantly composed of various inorganic compounds, primary organic compounds, and, in lesser amounts, of elemental carbon, secondary ions, and secondary organic compounds. The second particle fraction, PM0.26–1.6, consisted mainly of secondary matter, and its mass contribution to the total PM mass was about 59 %. The third fraction, PM1.6–40, was a fraction of coarse particles composed of mineral/soil and organic matter and elemental carbon. It contributed to the PM mass about 28 %. For each of PM0.03–0.26, PM0.26–1.6, and PM1.6–40, the health hazard from its 16 PAH contents was determined by computing toxicity factors. PM0.26–1.6 posed the greatest health hazard from the mixture of the 16 PAHs that it contained, PM1.6–40 was the next, and the hazard from the PM0.03–0.26-bound 16 PAHs was the smallest. The molecular diagnostic ratios computed for these three fractions were specific for coal and wood combustion; some indicated the road traffic effects.

Research on chromium and arsenic speciation in atmospheric particulate matter: short review

“…Mass size distribution of Cr(III), instead, was a bimodal with maxima in the ranges 1.0-1.8 and 5.6-10 μm [32]. The mass size distribution of Cr(III) is consistent with the distribution of total chromium in size-fractionated PM (13 PM fractions) collected in Zabrze (Poland) during winter [16,17]. In Zabrze, Cr were accumulated mostly in fine particles and had bimodal mass size distribution with maxima in the ranges 1-1.6 and 6.8-10 μm.…”

“…Many studies confirm connection between the size of the surface area, and the ability of PM particles to cumulate metals and metalloids. In the Polish urban areas, approximately 70-90% of total PM-bound metal mass is bound to submicron particles (PM1) [15][16][17].…”

Optical Properties of Fine Particulate Matter in Upper Silesia, Poland

“…It was shown before that PM1-2.5 was much richer with EC than PM1 in Upper Silesia (Katowice, non-heating season) [31]. Moreover, PM2.5 contained more EC than PM1 in the non-urban area (Racibórz, quasi-rural site) in summer [14,33]. Consequently, the light absorption coefficient for PM2.5 was higher than for PM1 (contrary to Rav; Table 1).…”

“…It can also bring about the changes in the humidity profile. Therefore, it can affect the cloud formation processes and change their duration time in the atmosphere [5] Organic carbon (OC) makes up an important part of the PM2.5 mass [12][13][14]. OC contains many various compounds whose molecular masses are lower than EC.…”

Preliminary analysis of variability in concentration of fine particulate matter - PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10 in area of Poznań city

“…Many studies indicate so-called low-stack-emission of particulate matter from communal and living sector as a main factor forming the quality of air in Poland in the winter season [11,16]. An important source of particulate matter emission, especially in cities, is also road transport, which besides emitting particulate matter by combustion of fuel, also emits it by abrasion of vehicle elements (brake blocks, tires) and surface of roads.…”