Abstract. The chemical composition of the plumes of seagoing ships was measured during a two week long measurement campaign in the port of Rotterdam, Hoek van Holland The Netherlands, in September 2009. Altogether, 497 ships were monitored and a statistical evaluation of emission factors (g kg−1 fuel) was provided. The concerned main atmospheric components were SO2, NO2, NOx and the aerosol particle number. In addition, the elemental and water-soluble ionic composition of the emitted particulate matter was determined. Emission factors were expressed as a function of ship type, power and crankshaft rotational speed. The average SO2 emission factor was found to be roughly half of what is allowed in sulphur emission control areas (16 vs. 30 g kg−1 fuel), and exceedances of this limit were rarely registered. A significant linear relationship was observed between the SO2 and particle number emission factors. The intercept of the regression line, 4.8 × 1015 (kg fuel)−1, gives the average number of particles formed during the burning of 1 kg zero sulphur content fuel, while the slope, 2 × 1018, provides the average number of particles formed with 1 kg sulphur burnt with the fuel. Water-soluble ionic composition analysis of the aerosol samples from the plumes showed that ~144 g of particulate sulphate was emitted from 1 kg sulphur burnt with the fuel. The mass median diameter of sulphate particles estimated from the measurements was ~42 nm.

No abstract

[1] At the high alpine site Jungfraujoch (Switzerland) mixing ratios of 21 oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) and selected nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) have been measured by a newly developed two-stage double adsorbent system coupled to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). In addition, formaldehyde was measured by the Hantzsch technique. Four measurement campaigns were performed once every season in 2005, providing for the first time a unique data set of OVOCs in the free troposphere of central Europe. The dominating OVOCs measured were acetone, methanol, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, with mean mixing ratios of 622-867 ppt, 362-790 ppt, 303-505 ppt and 310-392 ppt, respectively. These compounds explained 95% of the measured organic compounds in summer and 83% in fall. Elevated mixing ratios in summer were observed for compounds with strong biogenic sources (e.g., methanol and acetone), whereas mainly anthropogenic compounds (e.g., ethanol and benzene) had higher mixing ratios during winter. Potential European source regions were estimated for the organic trace gases by combining the measured data with a statistical trajectory model. Northern Italy, southern France and southern and eastern Germany were identified as the main European contributors to the measured organic compounds at Jungfraujoch.

The chemical composition of the plumes of seagoing ships was investigated during a two weeks long measurement campaign in the port of Rotterdam, Hoek van Holland, The Netherlands, in September 2009. Altogether, 497 ships were monitored and a statistical evaluation of emission factors (g kg⁻¹ fuel) was provided. The concerned main atmospheric components were SO₂, NO₂, NO_x and the aerosol particle number. In addition, the elemental and water-soluble ionic composition of the emitted particulate matter was determined. Emission factors were expressed as a function of ship type, power and crankshaft rotational speed. The average SO₂ emission factor was found to be roughly half of what is allowed in sulphur emission control areas (16 vs. 30 g kg⁻¹ fuel), and exceedances of this limit were rarely registered. A significant linear relationship was observed between the SO₂ and particle number emission factor. The intercept of the regression line, 0.5 × 10¹⁶ (kg fuel)⁻¹, gives the average number of particles formed during the burning of 1 kg zero sulphur content fuel, while the slope, 2 × 10¹⁸, provides the average number of particles formed with 1 kg sulphur burnt with the fuel. Water-soluble ionic composition analysis of the aerosol samples from the plumes showed that ~144 g of particulate sulphate was emitted from 1 kg sulphur burnt with the fuel. The mass median diameter of sulphate particles estimated from the measurements was ~42 nm