Seasonal Distribution and Source Apportionment of Chemical Compositions in PM2.5 in Nanchang, Inland Area of East China

Abstract

PM2.5 was sampled in four seasons of 2021 in Nanchang. Organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and water-soluble ions were the main chemical compositions in PM2.5. The annual average of OC/PM2.5 and EC/PM2.5 was 17.1% and 2.1%, respectively, while nine water-soluble ions were 56.7%. The order of each ion percentage in PM2.5 was NO3− > SO42− > K+ > Na+ > NH4+ > Cl− > NO2− > Ca2+ > Mg2+. The OC/EC (6.54, 13.17, 8.95, 7.99) and Char-EC/Soot-EC (0.88, 0.64, 1.32, 3.74) indicated that the carbon aerosols mainly originated from coal combustion, biomass combustion, and motor-vehicle emissions. High concentrations of Cl− and Ca2+ in spring were associated with dust sources. A good correlation between Na+, SO42−, and NO3− suggests the formation of Na2SO4 and NaNO3. The results of PM2.5 source apportionment by positive matrix factorisation (PMF) showed five main sources: motor-vehicle sources (18–33%), secondary sources (16–36%), coal combustion sources (16–30%), biomass-combustion sources (10–28%), and dust sources (5–7%). Backward trajectory clustering analysis showed PM2.5 in spring and autumn were more influenced by medium distance and local air but mainly influenced by local sources in winter.

Simulation and Forecasting Study on the Influential Factors of PM2.5 Related to Energy Consumption in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region

“…Source resolution [5][6][7][8], meteorological factors [9][10][11][12][13], and socio-economic factors [14][15][16][17][18] have been the key areas of attention in recent research on the factors that influence PM 2.5 emissions. From the standpoint of source apportionment, some papers have used positive definite matrix factorization (PMF) and chemical mass balance modeling (CMB) to study the origin of PM 2.5 emissions [19], concluding that coal combustion sources and motor vehicle sources are important factors affecting PM 2.5 emissions.…”