Source Identification of Carbonaceous Aerosols During Winter Months in the Dhaka City

Abstract

Air particulate matter samples were collected using Air Metrics samplers from 11 -17 January and 19 -27 January, 2012 at Amin Bazar and Farm Gate sites, respectively. The sampling time was from 8 a.m. -4 p.m. Three samplers were used of which two samplers were for PM 2.5 samples, using Teflon and quartz filters and the others for PM 10 samples using Teflon filter. Organic and elemental carbons (OC and EC) were measured in PM 2.5 samples at both sites. It has been found that the EC concentration at Amin Bazar is higher than in Farm Gate. The contribution of EC may come from diesel, gasoline and coal/wood combustions in the Amin Bazar site. The present OC/EC data were compared with the previous data. It was found that the concentration of EC became higher than those in the previous year. During last couple of years, Government implemented different policies specially in case of motor vehicles to improve the air quality. But due to the use of diesel in quick rental power plants, the air quality start to deteriorate. BC plays an important role to change the climate. Hence, government should think of alternatives to meet the power demand in place of diesel.

Seasonal variation of carbonaceous species in PM1 measured over residential area of Delhi, India

“…Most of the anthropogenic activities produce particles with a diameter of ≤ 1 μm that dominate in the urban atmospheric environment [4][5][6]. A number of inorganic and organic chemical species are found associated with particles of various size fractions [7]. Among these chemical species, carbonaceous fractions of atmospheric aerosol are becoming the matter of great concern in the world because it takes part in the formation of smog, and degradation of visibility by various types of chemical reaction in the atmosphere [8].…”

“…EC is directly released into the ambient air as a primary pollutant, while OC is produced as a Primary Organic Carbon (POC) by combustion activities or as Secondary Organic Carbon (SOC) by photochemical reaction [17,18]. OC consists of a number of organic compounds that may be of aromatic or aliphatic in nature, while EC is mainly composed of graphite-like structure [7,19]. OC is scattering in nature, and it cools the atmosphere by reflecting sunlight, whereas EC absorbs sunlight and produces warming effects [20].…”

Characteristics, sources, and exposure risk of the carbonaceous species of PM2.5 in Lahore, Pakistan

“…There is insu cient information about the association between particulate matter and mortality in Pakistan (Mehmood et al, 2018). Various chemical species, such as organic and inorganic species, are reported to be associated with particles of different sizes (Begum et al, 2012). In atmospheric aerosol, the carbonaceous fractions are among the chemical species of global concern as they contribute to the smog formation and visibility reduction caused by the various types of chemical reactions in the atmosphere (Venkataraman et al, 2005).…”