A pragmatic mass closure model for airborne particulate matter at urban background and roadside sites

Abstract Twenty-four hour samples of airborne PM 10 particulate matter have been collected as coarse and fine fractions using automated dichotomous samplers at four paired roadside and urban background locations in London and Birmingham, UK. The samples have been analysed for sulphate, nitrate, chloride, organic carbon, elemental carbon, iron and calcium and the data have been used to construct a simple model of aerosol chemistry. It is assumed initially that the major components are ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, sodium chloride, elemental carbon, organic carbon and mineral dusts (for which iron and calcium are tracers). This leaves a small proportion of mass unaccounted for, which we attribute to strongly bound water. Increasing the ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate content by 29% allows 100% of mass to be accounted for with a high percentage of variance in 24 h mass concentrations explained.

[1]  T. Kleindienst,et al.  Impact of organic compounds on the concentrations of liquid water in ambient PM2.5 , 2003 .

[2]  R M Harrison,et al.  Particulate matter in the atmosphere: which particle properties are important for its effects on health? , 2000, The Science of the total environment.

[3]  J. Chow,et al.  Results of the "Carbon Conference" International Aerosol Carbon Round Robin Test Stage I , 2001 .

[4]  Roy M. Harrison,et al.  Studies of the source apportionment of airborne particulate matter in the United Kingdom , 2000 .

[5]  John D. Spengler,et al.  A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF SOURCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO INHALABLE PARTICULATE MATTER POLLUTION IN METROPOLITAN BOSTON , 1985 .

[6]  (b) Particulate Matter in the Atmosphere , 1977 .

[7]  J. R. Young,et al.  The Los Angeles Aerosol Characterization and Source Apportionment Study: An Overview , 1994 .

[8]  D. Holland,et al.  Simplex optimization of multielement ultrasonic extraction of atmospheric particulates , 1983 .

[9]  Judith C Chow,et al.  Chemical composition of PM2.5 and PM10 in Mexico City during winter 1997. , 2002, The Science of the total environment.

[10]  Roy M. Harrison,et al.  Carbonaceous aerosol in urban and rural European atmospheres: estimation of secondary organic carbon concentrations , 1999 .

[11]  R. Harrison,et al.  Semi-quantitative x-ray diffraction analysis of size fractionated atmospheric particles , 1989 .

[12]  R. Harrison,et al.  Major component contributions to PM10 composition in the UK atmosphere , 2000 .

[13]  Roy M. Harrison,et al.  A study of trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the roadside environment , 2003 .

[14]  P. Koutrakis,et al.  Concentration and Composition of Atmospheric Aerosols from the 1995 SEAVS Experiment and a Review of the Closure between Chemical and Gravimetric Measurements , 2000, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[15]  R. Harrison,et al.  Processes affecting concentrations of aerosol strong acidity at sites in eastern England , 1992 .

[16]  R. Harrison,et al.  Field intercomparison of filter pack and impactor sampling for aerosol nitrate, ammonium, and sulphate at coastal and inland sites , 2004 .

[17]  Bong Mann Kim,et al.  Characterization of PM25 and PM10 in the South Coast Air Basin of Southern California: Part 1—Spatial Variations , 2000, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[18]  Roy M. Harrison,et al.  Source Apportionment of Atmospheric Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Collected from an Urban Location in Birmingham, U.K. , 1996 .

[19]  Roy M. Harrison,et al.  Quantitative interpretation of divergence between PM10 and PM2.5 mass measurement by TEOM and gravimetric (Partisol) instruments , 2004 .

[20]  David D. Cohen,et al.  Source apportionment of PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols in Brisbane (Australia) by receptor modelling , 1999 .

[21]  Y. Chan,et al.  Characterisation of chemical species in PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols in Brisbane, Australia , 1997 .

[22]  Jian Zhen Yu,et al.  Uncertainties in charring correction in the analysis of elemental and organic carbon in atmospheric particles by thermal/optical methods. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[23]  L. Russell.  Aerosol organic-mass-to-organic-carbon ratio measurements. , 2003, Environmental science & technology.

[24]  Barbara J. Turpin,et al.  Species Contributions to PM2.5 Mass Concentrations: Revisiting Common Assumptions for Estimating Organic Mass , 2001 .