New Directions: Need for better understanding of plastic waste burning as inferred from high abundance of terephthalic acid in South Asian aerosols

Kawamura, Kimitaka; Pavuluri, Chandra Mouli

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.09.016

Cited by 61 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…We found that concentration of tPh acid in PM 2.5 is similar to that reported from Sapporo (mean: 2.6 ng m −3 , Aggarwal and Kawamura, 2008) but is lower than those from Chennai (mean: 52 ng m −3 , Pavuruli et al, 2010) and Nainital (mean: 4.3 ng m −3 , Hegde and Kawamura, 2012). tPh could be produced from open burning of solid waste (plastic) (Simoneit et al, 2005;Kawamura and Pavuluri, 2010), which occurs commonly in Tanzania. Concentrations of total ketoacids in Morogoro (mean: 38-54 ng m −3 ) with a predominance of ωC 2 are comparable to those from other sites whereas concentrations of total α-dicarbonyls (mean: 5.7-7.8 ng m −3 ) are lower than those reported in the literature (Table 3).…”

Section: Comparison Of Molecular Composition Of Diacids and Related Csupporting

confidence: 79%

“…In Tanzania, dumping of municipal solid waste (large amounts of plastics) into open landfills is very common and 60 % of daily domestic solid waste are disposed and subjected to open burning (Kassim, 2006). Plastic burning under open-fire conditions and local anthropogenic emissions in both seasons should be responsible for these aromatic acids (Yassaa et al, 2001;Simoneit et al, 2005;Kawamura and Pavuluri, 2010).…”

Section: Molecular Composition and Seasonal Variations Of Diacids Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wang et al, 2006;Kawamura et al, 2010). Dicarboxylic acids and related compounds have been reported to influence on human health (Highwood and Kinnersley, 2006), hygroscopic property of aerosols (McFiggans et al, 2005), and contribute to the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity (Gierlus et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular composition of dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, α-dicarbonyls and fatty acids in atmospheric aerosols from Tanzania, East Africa during wet and dry seasons

Mkoma

Kawamura

2013

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Atmospheric aerosol samples of PM2.5 and PM10 were collected during the wet and dry seasons in 2011 from a rural site in Tanzania and analysed for water-soluble dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, α-dicarbonyls, and fatty acids using a gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and GC/mass spectrometry. Here we report the molecular composition and sources of diacids and related compounds for wet and dry seasons. Oxalic acid (C2) was found as the most abundant diacid species followed by succinic and/or malonic acids whereas glyoxylic acid and glyoxal were the dominant ketoacid and α-dicarbonyl, respectively in both seasons in PM2.5 and PM10. Mean concentration of C2 in PM2.5 (121 ± 47 ng m−3) was lower in wet season than dry season (258 ± 69 ng m−3). Similarly, PM10 samples showed lower concentration of C2 (169 ± 42 ng m−3) in wet season than dry season (292 ± 165 ng m−3). Relative abundances of C2 in total diacids were 65% and 67% in PM2.5 and 65% and 64% in PM10 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. Total concentrations of diacids (289–362 ng m−3), ketoacids (37.8–53.7 ng m−3), and α-dicarbonyls (5.7–7.8 ng m−3) in Tanzania are higher than those reported at a rural background site in Nylsvley (South Africa) but comparable or lower than those reported from sites in Asia and Europe. Diacids and ketoacids were found to be present mainly in PM2.5 in both seasons (total α-dicarbonyls in the dry season), suggesting a production of organic acids from pyrogenic sources and photochemical oxidations. Averaged contributions of total diacids to aerosol total carbon were 1.4% in PM2.5 and 2.1% in PM10 during wet season and 3.3% in PM2.5 and 3.9% in PM10 during dry season whereas those to water-soluble organic carbon were 2.2% and 4.7% in PM2.5 during wet season and 3.1% and 5.8% in PM10 during dry season. The higher ratios in dry season suggest an enhanced photochemical oxidation of organic precursors probably via heterogeneous reactions on aerosols under strong solar radiation. Strong positive correlations were found among diacids and related compounds as well as good relations to source tracers in both seasons, suggesting a mixed source from natural biogenic emissions, biomass burning, biofuel combustion, and photochemical production

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Section: Comparison Of Molecular Composition Of Diacids and Related Csupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Molecular Composition and Seasonal Variations Of Diacids Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular composition of dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, α-dicarbonyls and fatty acids in atmospheric aerosols from Tanzania, East Africa during wet and dry seasons

Mkoma

Kawamura

2013

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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“…In factor 3, glyoxal and tPh were recognized together, suggesting an important emission from field burning of municipal wastes. Terephthalic acid is extensively produced during the burning of the municipal solid wastes and/or plastic polymers (Simoneit et al, 2005;Kawamura and Pavuluri, 2010) whereas glyoxal is produced during photo-oxidation of p-xylene as it is one of the important raw materials for terephthalic acid dimethyl ester (Volkamer et al, 2001).…”

Section: Principal Component Analysis For Selected Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variations of water-soluble organic carbon, dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, and α-dicarbonyls in Central Himalayan aerosols

Hegde

Kawamura

2012

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. Aerosol samples were collected from a high elevation mountain site (Nainital, India; 1958 m a.s.l.) in the central Himalayas, a location that provides an isolated platform above the planetary boundary layer to better understand the composition of the remote continental troposphere. The samples were analyzed for water-soluble dicarboxylic acids (C 2 -C 12 ) and related compounds (ketocarboxylic acids and α-dicarbonyls), as well as organic carbon, elemental carbon and water soluble organic carbon. The contributions of total dicarboxylic acids to total aerosol carbon during wintertime were 1.7 % and 1.8 %, for day and night, respectively whereas they were significantly smaller during summer. Molecular distributions of diacids revealed that oxalic (C 2 ) acid was the most abundant species followed by succinic (C 4 ) and malonic (C 3 ) acids. The average concentrations of total diacids (433±108 ng m −3 ), ketoacids (48±23 ng m −3 ), and α-dicarbonyls (9±4 ng m −3 ) were similar to those from large Asian cities such as Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong. During summer most of the organic species were several times more abundant than in winter. Phthalic acid, which originates from oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, was found to be 7 times higher in summer than winter. This feature has not been reported before in atmospheric aerosols. Based on molecular distributions and air mass backward trajectories, we conclude that dicarboxylic acids and related compounds in Himalayan aerosols are derived from anthropogenic activities in the highly populated Indo-Gangetic plain areas.

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“…Open burning of municipal solid waste (large amounts of plastics) is very common in Tanzania (Kassim, 2006), together with local anthropogenic emissions. These sources should also be responsible for the aromatic diacid (Yassaa et al, 2001;Simoneit et al, 2005;Kawamura and Pavuluri, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

Stable carbon isotopic compositions of low-molecularweight dicarboxylic acids, glyoxylic acid and glyoxal in tropical aerosols: implications for photochemical processes of organic aerosols

Mkoma

Kawamura²,

Tachibana

2014

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

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A B S T R A C T Tropical aerosols of PM 2.5 and PM 10 were collected at a rural site in Morogoro, Tanzania (East Africa), and analysed for stable carbon isotopic composition (d 13 C) of dicarboxylic acids (C 2 ÁC 9 ), glyoxylic acid (vC 2 ) and glyoxal (Gly) using gas chromatography/isotope ratio mass spectrometer. PM 2.5 samples showed that d 13 C values of vC 2 and Gly are smaller than those of C 2 in both PM 2.5 and PM 10 . On the other hand, azelaic acid (C 9 ; mean, (28.5) is more depleted in 13 C, which is consistent with the previous knowledge; that is, C 9 is produced by the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids emitted from terrestrial higher plants. A significant enrichment of 13 C in oxalic acid together with its negative correlations with relative abundance of C 2 in total diacids and ratios of water-soluble organic carbon and organic carbon further support that a photochemical degradation of oxalic acid occurs during long-range transport from source regions.

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New Directions: Need for better understanding of plastic waste burning as inferred from high abundance of terephthalic acid in South Asian aerosols

Abstract: Terephthalic acid (1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid; t-Ph) is an important industrial material used for making plastics such as polyester fibre and PET (polyethyleneterephthalate) thermoplastics. In term of public health, t-Ph promotes a bladder cancer (Heck and Tyl, 1985).

Cited by 61 publications

References 11 publications

Molecular composition of dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, α-dicarbonyls and fatty acids in atmospheric aerosols from Tanzania, East Africa during wet and dry seasons

Molecular composition of dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, α-dicarbonyls and fatty acids in atmospheric aerosols from Tanzania, East Africa during wet and dry seasons

Seasonal variations of water-soluble organic carbon, dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids, and α-dicarbonyls in Central Himalayan aerosols

Stable carbon isotopic compositions of low-molecularweight dicarboxylic acids, glyoxylic acid and glyoxal in tropical aerosols: implications for photochemical processes of organic aerosols

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