During November-December 2010 aerosol scattering coefficients were monitored using a single-waved (525 nm) Nephelometer at a regional monitoring station in the central Pearl River Delta region and 24-hr fine particle (PM 2.5) samples were also collected during the period using quartz filters for the analysis of major chemical components including organic carbon (OC),elemental carbon (EC),sulfate,nitrate and ammonium.In average,these five components accounted for about 85% of PM 2.5 mass and contributed 42% (OC),19% (SO 4 2 -),12% (NO 3 -),8.4% (NH 4+) and 3.7% (EC),to PM 2.5 mass.A relatively higher mass scattering efficiency of 5.3 m 2/g was obtained for fine particles based on the linear regression between scattering coefficients and PM 2.5 mass concentrations.Chemical extinction budget based on IMPROVE approach revealed that ammonium sulfate,particulate organic matter,ammonium nitrate and EC in average contributed about 32%,28%,20% and 6% to the light extinction coefficients,respectively.
Organic acids as important constituents of organic aerosols not only influence the aerosols' hygroscopic property, but also enhance the formation of new particles and secondary organic aerosols. This study reported organic acids including C14–C32fatty acids, C4–C9dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids in PM2.5collected during winter 2009 at six typical urban, suburban and rural sites in the Pearl River Delta region. Averaged concentrations of C14–C32fatty acids, aromatic acids and C4– C9 dicarboxylic acids were 157, 72.5 and 50.7 ng/m3, respectively. They totally accounted for 1.7% of measured organic carbon. C20–C32fatty acids mainly deriving from higher plant wax showed the highest concentration at the upwind rural site with more vegetation around, while C14–C18fatty acids were more abundant at urban and suburban sites, and dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids except 1,4-phthalic acid peaked at the downwind rural site. Succinic and azelaic acid were the most abundant among C4–C9dicarboxylic acids, and 1,2-phthalic and 1,4-phthalic acid were dominant aromatic acids. Dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids exhibited significant mutual correlations except for 1,4-phthalic acid, which was probably primarily emitted from combustion of solid wastes containing polyethylene terephthalate plastics. Spatial patterns and correlations with typical source tracers suggested that C14–C32fatty acids were mainly primary while dicarboxylic and aromatic acids were largely secondary. Principal component analysis resolved six sources including biomass burning, natural higher plant wax, two mixed anthropogenic and two secondary sources; further multiple linear regression revealed their contributions to individual organic acids. It turned out that more than 70% of C14–C18fatty acids were attributed to anthropogenic sources, about 50%–85% of the C20–C32fatty acids were attributed to natural sources, 80%–95% of dicarboxylic acids and 1,2-phthalic acid were secondary in contrast with that 81% of 1,4-phthalic acid w
Oxygenated volatile organic compounds(OVOCs) emitted from orange wastes during aerobic decomposition were investigated in a laboratory-controlled incubator for a period of two months. Emission of total OVOCs(TOVOCs) from orange wastes reached 1714 mg/dry kg(330 mg/wet kg). Ethanol, methanol, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate, 2-butanone and acetaldehyde were the most abundant OVOC species with shares of 26.9%, 24.8%, 20.3%, 13.9%, 2.8%and 2.5%, respectively, in the TOVOCs released. The emission fluxes of the above top five OVOCs were quite trivial in the beginning but increased sharply to form one "peak emission window" with maximums at days 1–8 until leveling off after 10 days. This type of "peak emission window" was synchronized with the CO2 fluxes and incubation temperature of the orange wastes, indicating that released OVOCs were mainly derived from secondary metabolites of orange substrates through biotic processes rather than abiotic processes or primary volatilization of the inherent pool in oranges. Acetaldehyde instead had emission fluxes decreasing sharply from its initial maximum to nearly zero in about four days,suggesting that it was inherent rather than secondarily formed. For TOVOCs or all OVOC species except 2-butanone and acetone, over 80% of their emissions occurred during the first week, implying that organic wastes might give off a considerable amount of OVOCs during the early disposal period under aerobic conditions.
Ammonia(NH3) plays vital roles in new particle formation and atmospheric chemistry. Although previous studies have revealed that it also influences the formation of secondary organic aerosols(SOA) from ozonolysis of biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds(VOCs), the influence of NH3 on particle formation from complex mixtures such as vehicle exhausts is still poorly understood. Here we directly introduced gasoline vehicles exhausts(GVE) into a smog chamber with NH3 absorbed by denuders to examine the role of NH3 in particle formation from GVE. We found that removing NH3 from GVE would greatly suppress the formation and growth of particles. Adding NH3 into the reactor after 3 h photo-oxidation of GVE, the particle number concentration and mass concentrations jumped explosively to much higher levels, indicating that the numbers and mass of particles might be enhanced when aged vehicle exhausts are transported to rural areas and mixed with NH3-rich plumes. We also found that the presence of NH3 had no significant influence on SOA formation from GVE. Very similar oxygen to carbon(O:C) and hydrogen to carbon(H:C) ratios resolved by aerosol mass spectrometer with and without NH3 indicated that the presence of NH3 also had no impact on the average carbon oxidation state of SOA from GVE.
