Comparing Physicochemical Properties of Ambient Particulate Matter of Hot Spots in a Highly Polluted Air Quality Zone

Self Cite

This study investigates the effects of sea-land breezes (SLBs) and northeastern monsoon (NEM) on the physicochemical properties of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere over southeastern coastal region of Taiwan Strait. The intensive PM sampling protocol was consecutively conducted for forty-eight hours. During the sampling periods, PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 were simultaneously measured with dichotomous samplers at four sites (two inland and two at offshore sites) and PM 10 was measured with beta-ray monitors at these same four sites. Strong SLBs were regularly observed in the coastal region of southern Taiwan during the SLBs periods, while significant northeastern monsoons appeared during the NEM periods. The mass ratios of PM 2.5 /PM 10 during the NEM periods were always higher than the SLBs periods. The most abundant ionic species of PM were SO 4 2-, NO 3 -, and NH 4 + . The most common chemical compounds of PM in southern Taiwan were ammonium sulfate ((NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 ) and ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 ). Carbon contents of PM during the NEM periods were higher than during the SLBs periods. The organic-to-elemental-carbon ratio (OC/EC) of PM 2.5 ranged from 1.05 to 4.39 with an average of 2.26. The order of major metallic elements of PM 2.5 in the SLBs and NEM periods is Fe > Ca > K > Al > Mg > Zn > Pb and Ca > Fe > Al > K > Mg > V > Ni, respectively, and of PM 2.5-10 is Ca > K > Al > Fe > Mg > Zn and Fe > Ca > Al > K > Mg > V > Ni, respectively. This study reveals that the accumulation of PM offshore, due to land breezes, influences the tempospatial distribution of PM at the coastal region in southern Taiwan. Moreover, the nss- [

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicochemical Properties of PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 at Inland and Offshore Sites over Southeastern Coastal Region of Taiwan Strait

Tsai

Yuan

Hung

et al. 2011

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“…The SURFER model has been commonly used to describe the spatial distribution of PM 10 for metropolitan district, industrial area, rural area, etc. (Otvos et al, 2003;Shaocai et al, 2004;Tsai et al, 2010).…”

Section: Sampling Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicochemical Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles in Kinmen-Xiamen Airshed

Chen

Yuan

et al. 2013

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The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical properties of atmospheric particles sampled in the KinmenXiamen Airshed located on the west bank of the Taiwan Strait. Seven particulate matter (PM) sampling sites in the KinmenXiamen Airshed, including three sites at Kinmen Island and four in urban Xiamen, were selected for this particular study. Regular sampling was conducted to collect PM 10 with high-volume samplers twice a month from March 2008, while intensive sampling was conducted to collect PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 with dichotomous samplers and PM 10 with high-volume samplers in the spring and winter of [2008][2009]. After sampling, the metallic contents of PM 10 were analyzed with an inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). Ionic species and carbonaceous contents of PM 10 were analyzed with an ion chromatograph (IC) and elemental analyzer (EA), respectively. Finally, the source identification and apportionment of PM were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and receptor modeling (CMB), respectively. The results from PM 10 sampling indicated that atmospheric aerosol particles had a tendency to accumulate in Xiamen Bay all year round, particularly in spring and winter. The five sampling sites at the center of Xiamen Bay had relatively higher PM 10 concentrations than the two sampling sites outside Xiamen Bay, suggesting that local emissions from Xiamen Bay were more significant than emissions transported over a long distance by the Northeastern Monsoon. The phenomenon of superimposition was regularly observed during air pollution episodes at Xiamen Bay. Moreover, the results of chemical analysis showed that the main chemical components of the PM were SO 4 2-, NO 3 -, NH 4 + , OC, and EC and crustal elements (Ca, Mg, Fe, and Al) in the aerosol particles in the Kinmen-Xiamen Airshed. The neutralization ratios (NR) of PM were generally smaller than unity, indicating that the atmospheric particulates were mostly acidic. The averaged sulfur oxidation ratio (SOR) ranged from 0.20 to 0.51, and the nitrogen oxidation ratio (NOR) ranged from 0.10 to 0.41 for all seasons. The ratios of sulfur and nitrogen oxidation were generally higher than 0.25 and 0.10, respectively, suggesting that secondary sulfate and nitrate aerosols came mainly from across-boundary transportation and could be further accumulated in the Kinmen-Xiamen Airshed. The results from CMB receptor modeling showed that the major sources of atmospheric PM 10 in the Kinmen-Xiamen Airshed were soil dusts, secondary aerosols, the petroleum industry, motor vehicle exhausts, the iron and steel industry, the cement industry, diesel vehicle exhausts, marine aerosols, and biomass burning.

“…After sampling, aluminum foil was used to fold the quartz fiber filters, which were then temporarily stored at 4°C and transported back for further chemical analysis. The sampling and analytical procedure was similar to that described in various previous studies (Cheng and Tsai, 2000;Yuan et al, 2006;Tsai et al, 2008;Tsai et al, 2010Tsai et al, , 2011Tsai et al, , 2012. Both field and transportation blanks were undertaken for PM 10 sampling, while reagent and filter blanks were applied for chemical analysis.…”

Section: Quality Assurance and Quality Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diurnal Variation and Chemical Characteristics of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles and Their Source Fingerprints at Xiamen Bay

Chen

et al. 2013

Self Cite

This study investigated the diurnal variation of mass concentration and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol particles sampled at Xiamen Bay, located on the west bank of the Taiwan Strait. Atmospheric PM 10 samples were collected at ten particulate matter (PM) sampling sites at Xiamen Bay, including five sites at the Kinmen Islands and five sites in urban Xiamen, at both daytime and nighttime during the regular and intensive sampling periods. Regular sampling was conducted to collect PM 10 with high-volume samplers three times a month from April 2009 to April 2010, while intensive sampling was conducted to collect PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 with dichotomous samplers in the spring and winter of 2009 and 2010. This study further selected ten major emission sources (e.g., stone processing, power plants, soil dusts, and biomass burning) at Xiamen Bay to collect fugitive particulate samples which were then resuspended in a self-designed resuspension chamber to collect PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 with two separate dichotomous samplers for further chemical analysis.The results from PM 10 sampling indicated that atmospheric aerosol particles tended to be accumulated in Xiamen Bay all year round, but especially in spring and winter. A significant diurnal variation of PM 10 was observed, with higher PM 10 concentrations in the daytime during the regular sampling periods. The chemical analysis results showed that the major chemical components of PM 10 were SO 4 2-, NO 3 -, NH 4 + , OC, EC, and crustal elements (Ca, Mg, Fe, and Al), which were usually higher in the daytime than at night at Xiamen Bay. The differences were most pronounced at night, where the concentrations of most anthropogenic elements (Ni, Cu, As, and V) were higher than those in the daytime. The elemental composition of PM emitted from stone processing and the cement industry were dominated by crustal elements, particularly Ca, whereas the profile of top-soil mainly contained Al and Ca. The profiles of industrial sources were dominated by secondary inorganic aerosols and EC. Moreover, construction and road dusts contained large amounts of Fe and Al, while biomass burning released large amounts of K, OC, and SO 4 2-.