Chemical and Morphological Characteristics of Particulate Matter Suspended in the Air of the Dhaka University Area of Bangladesh

Abstract

Total suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the urban atmosphere of Dhaka city was collected using a high volume sampling technique for a period of one month (August 2017-September 2017). Chemical characterization of particulate matter (PM) was investigated, and characterized concerning the size distribution, morphological features such as count, total area, average size, perimeter, circularity, aspect ratio (AR), roundness; equivalent spherical diameter (ESD), surface area and volume of PM. The results of elemental analysis showed that the presence of heavy metal in PM was ten to hundred times higher than the standard value prescribed by WHO and USEPA. Several morphological analysis indicated that particles varying in shape from nearly spherical to various irregular shape, had higher surface energy, higher content of Cl and S bearing particles and had a large surface area which can cause greater damage to lungs. The presence of various organic compounds containing functional groups like alcohols, ketones aldehydes, carboxylic acids as well as unsaturated and saturated carbon bonds was observed by FT-IR analysis. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the morphology of the PM. Agglomerates and shoots type particles were mostly seen in SPM.

Exposure levels and health risk of PAHs associated with fine and ultrafine aerosols in an urban site in northern Algeria

“…The emission sources of organic particles can be identified by using many analytical techniques and statistical methods, the former including high-performance liquid chromatography (Eisenberg 1978 ) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (Cautreels and Van Cauwenberghe 1976 ) applied to solvent-extractable components, and surface characterization of particles (i.e., morphology) through SEM and RaS (Bharti et al 2017 ). According to literature, the spherical shape matches soot particles associated with fuel combustion, which highlights the influence of road traffic (Huda et al 2018 ; Talbi et al 2018 ).…”

Characterisation of particulate matter and identification of emission sources in Greater Caracas, Venezuela

“…The authors had applied both techniques together to complement the findings of each independent analysis. SEM-EDX and FTIR have been used to propose the presence of plausible particle groups in mixtures of sampled aerosols (Ochsenkühn-Petropoulou et al 2009;Bharti et al 2017;Radulescu et al 2017;Huda et al 2018;Zeb et al 2018).…”