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Su Y, Long Y, Yao X, Chen C, Sun W, Zhao R, Zhang J. Microscopic Characterization of Individual Aerosol Particles in a Typical Industrial City and Its Surrounding Rural Areas in China. TOXICS 2024; 12:525. [PMID: 39058177 PMCID: PMC11281221 DOI: 10.3390/toxics12070525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 07/18/2024] [Accepted: 07/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Transmission electron microscopy was used to analyze individual aerosol particles collected in Lanzhou (urban site) and its surrounding areas (rural site) in early 2023. The results revealed that from the pre-Spring Festival period to the Spring Festival period, the main pollutants at the urban site decreased significantly, while the PM2.5 and SO2 concentrations increased at the rural site. During the entire sampling period, the main particles at the urban site were organic matter (OM), secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), and OM-SIA particles, while those at the rural site were OM, SIA, and soot particles. The degree of external mixing of single particles in both sites increased from the pre-Spring Festival period to the Spring Festival period. The proportion of the OM particles increased by 11% at the urban site, and the proportion of SIA particles increased by 24% at the rural site. During the Spring Festival, the aging of the soot particles was enhanced at the urban site and weakened at the rural site. At the urban site, the SIA particle size was more strongly correlated with the thickness of the OM coating during the pre-Spring Festival period, while the correlation was stronger at the rural site during the Spring Festival.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Junke Zhang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 611756, China; (Y.S.)
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Lim S, Lee M, Yoo HJ. Size distributions, mixing state, and morphology of refractory black carbon in an urban atmosphere of northeast Asia during summer. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 856:158436. [PMID: 36108842 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Black carbon (BC) exerts profound impacts on air quality, human health, and climate. Here, we investigated concentrations and size distributions of refractory BC (rBC) and mixing state and morphology of rBC-containing particles in urban Seoul for 2019 summer. Mass concentrations of rBC ranged from 0.02 μgm-3 to 2.89 μgm-3, and daily maximums of rBC mass, daily minimums of rBC mass median diameter (MMD) (110-130 nm), and shell-to-core ratio (Rshell/core) occurred with NO2 maximums during morning rush hour. As the first report of ground observations on rBC mixing state, these results indicate that vehicle emission is a major local source of rBC in Seoul. MMDs of 127-146 nm and the greatest mass loadings of ≥1 μg m-3 were accompanied by high O3 and PM2.5 concentrations, in contrast to the largest MMDs (135-165 nm) associated with transport from upstream regions. The average Rshell/core was 1.25 for the rBC mass-equivalent diameter (DrBC) of 140-220 nm. Rshell/core increased gradually through the day and was positively correlated with Ox concentration, indicating photochemical aging of rBC particles. Co-emissions of rBC and volatile organic compounds from vehicles facilitated internal mixing during the daytime. However, Rshell/core tended to be low at temperature >∼30 °C, while 58 % of rBC particles with Rshell/core exceeding 1.25 were found at nighttime under relative humidity >75 %. These results demonstrate that the mixing state of freshly-emitted rBC particles was altered through coating by photochemically oxidized vapors during the day and hygroscopic growth at night. Additionally, the delay-time approach revealed rBC morphological characteristics, the most common being the bare type (74 %), and the attached type (6 %) was relatively large in numbers during morning rush hour. Therefore, it is suggested that during summer, rBC particles from traffic emissions should be considered in parallel to winter pollution mitigation strategies in urban atmosphere of northeast Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saehee Lim
- Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea; Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Chungnam National University, Deajeon 34134, Republic of Korea
| | - Meehye Lee
- Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hee-Jung Yoo
- Climate Research Department, National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Jeju 63568, Republic of Korea
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Chen H, Duan F, He K, Du J, Sun Z, Wang S. Constructing a Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectral reference library for fine-particle analysis. J Environ Sci (China) 2022; 118:1-13. [PMID: 35305757 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2021.08.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Fine particles associated with haze pollution threaten the health of over 400 million people in China. Owing to excellent non-destructive fingerprint recognition characteristics, Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are often used to analyze the composition of fine particles to determine their physical and chemical properties as well as reaction mechanisms. However, there is no comprehensive Raman spectral library of fine particles. Furthermore, various studies that used SERS for fine-particle composition analysis showed that the uniqueness of the SERS substrates and different excitation wavelengths can produce a different spectrum for the same fine-particle component. To overcome this limitation, we conducted SERS experiments with a portable Raman spectrometer using two common SERS substrates (silver (Ag) foil and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs)) and a 785 nm laser. Herein, we introduced three main particle component types (sulfate-nitrate-ammonium (SNA), organic material, and soot) with a total of 39 chemical substances. We scanned the solid Raman, liquid Raman, and SERS spectra of these substances and constructed a fine-particle reference library containing 105 spectra. Spectral results indicated that for soot and SNA, the differences in characteristic peaks mainly originated from the solid-liquid phase transition; Ag foil had little effect on this difference, while the Au NPs caused a significant red shift in the peak positions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Moreover, with various characteristic peak positions in the three types of spectra, we could quickly and correctly distinguish substances. We hope that this spectral library will aid in the future identification of fine particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Chen
- Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental System Optimization of Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Fengkui Duan
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Kebin He
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jingjing Du
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Zhenli Sun
- Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental System Optimization of Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China.
| | - Suhua Wang
- Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental System Optimization of Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemcial Pollution Processes and Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming 525000 China
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Compositions, Sources, and Aging Processes of Aerosol Particles during Winter Hazes in an Inland Megacity of NW China. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13040521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
As one of the largest inland megacities in Northwest (NW) China, Xi’an has been facing serious regional haze frequently, especially during winter. The composition of aerosols in Xi’an is highly complex due to its unique basinal topography and unique meteorological conditions. In this study, we characterized the morphology, size, and composition of individual aerosol particles collected during regional haze events at an urban site in Xi’an using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX). Six types of particles were identified based on their morphology and chemical composition, including organic (41.88%), sulfate (32.36%), soot (8.33%), mineral (7.91%), K-rich (5.13%), and fly ash particles (4.49%). These results demonstrate that the organic particles made a larger contribution to haze formation than the secondary inorganic particles during the sampling period. Size distribution and dominance suggest that organic and sulfate particles exert major control on the variation trends of particle size in haze. The coating thickness of organic-cored particles was about 369 nm and that of sulfate-cored particles was about 322 nm, implying that the organic particles were more aged than the sulfate particles. The results presented in this study provide further insights into understanding haze particle formation.
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Xing J, Shao L, Zhang W, Peng J, Wang W, Hou C, Shuai S, Hu M, Zhang D. Morphology and composition of particles emitted from a port fuel injection gasoline vehicle under real-world driving test cycles. J Environ Sci (China) 2019; 76:339-348. [PMID: 30528025 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2018.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Traffic vehicles, many of which are powered by port fuel injection (PFI) engines, are major sources of particulate matter in the urban atmosphere. We studied particles from the emission of a commercial PFI-engine vehicle when it was running under the states of cold start, hot start, hot stabilized running, idle and acceleration, using a transmission electron microscope and an energy-dispersive X-ray detector. Results showed that the particles were mainly composed of organic, soot, and Ca-rich particles, with a small amount of S-rich and metal-containing particles, and displayed a unimodal size distribution with the peak at 600 nm. The emissions were highest under the cold start running state, followed by the hot start, hot stabilized, acceleration, and idle running states. Organic particles under the hot start and hot stabilized running states were higher than those of other running states. Soot particles were highest under the cold start running state. Under the idle running state, the relative number fraction of Ca-rich particles was high although their absolute number was low. These results indicate that PFI-engine vehicles emit substantial primary particles, which favor the formation of secondary aerosols via providing reaction sites and reaction catalysts, as well as supplying soot, organic, mineral and metal particles in the size range of the accumulation mode. In addition, the contents of Ca, P, and Zn in organic particles may serve as fingerprints for source apportionment of particles from PFI-engine vehicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaoping Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, School of Geoscience and Survey Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Longyi Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, School of Geoscience and Survey Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Wenbin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jianfei Peng
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Wenhua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, School of Geoscience and Survey Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
| | - Cong Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, School of Geoscience and Survey Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
| | - Shijin Shuai
- State Key Laboratory of Automotive Safety and Energy, Department of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Min Hu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Daizhou Zhang
- Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto 862-8502, Japan.
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Veghte DP, China S, Weis J, Lin P, Hinks ML, Kovarik L, Nizkorodov SA, Gilles MK, Laskin A. Heating-Induced Transformations of Atmospheric Particles: Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy Study. Anal Chem 2018; 90:9761-9768. [PMID: 30008222 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b01410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Environmental transmission electron microscopy was employed to probe transformations in the size, morphology, and composition of individual atmospheric particles as a function of temperature. Two different heating devices were used and calibrated in this work: a furnace heater and a Micro Electro Mechanical System heater. The temperature calibration used sublimation temperatures of NaCl, glucose, and ammonium sulfate particles, and the melting temperature of tin. Volatilization of Suwanee River Fulvic Acid was further used to validate the calibration up to 800 °C. The calibrated furnace holder was used to examine both laboratory-generated secondary organic aerosol particles and field-collected atmospheric particles. Chemical analysis by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and near-edge fine-structure spectroscopy of the organic particles at different heating steps showed that above 300 °C particle volatilization was accompanied by charring. These methods were then applied to ambient particles collected in the central Amazon region. Distinct categories of particles differed in their volatilization response to heating. Spherical, more-viscous particles lost less volume during heating than particles that spread on the imaging substrate during impaction, due to either being liquid upon impaction or lower viscosity. This methodology illustrates a new analytical approach to accurately measure the volume fraction remaining for individually tracked atmospheric particles at elevated temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Veghte
- William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , Washington 99354 , United States
| | - Swarup China
- William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , Washington 99354 , United States
| | - Johannes Weis
- Department of Chemistry , University of California , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States.,Chemical Sciences Division , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Peng Lin
- Department of Chemistry , University of California , Irvine , California 92697 , United States
| | - Mallory L Hinks
- Department of Chemistry , University of California , Irvine , California 92697 , United States
| | - Libor Kovarik
- William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory , Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , Richland , Washington 99354 , United States
| | - Sergey A Nizkorodov
- Department of Chemistry , University of California , Irvine , California 92697 , United States
| | - Mary K Gilles
- Department of Chemistry , University of California , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Alexander Laskin
- Department of Chemistry , Purdue University , West Lafayette , Indiana 47907-2084 United States
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Physicochemical Characteristics of Individual Aerosol Particles during the 2015 China Victory Day Parade in Beijing. ATMOSPHERE 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos9020040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Deng L, Zhang Z. Assessing the features of extreme smog in China and the differentiated treatment strategy. Proc Math Phys Eng Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2017.0511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Extreme smog can have potentially harmful effects on human health, the economy and daily life. However, the average (mean) values do not provide strategically useful information on the hazard analysis and control of extreme smog. This article investigates China's smog extremes by applying extreme value analysis to hourly PM2.5 data from 2014 to 2016 obtained from monitoring stations across China. By fitting a generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution to exceedances over a station-specific extreme smog level at each monitoring location, all study stations are grouped into eight different categories based on the estimated mean and shape parameter values of fitted GEV distributions. The extreme features characterized by the mean of the fitted extreme value distribution, the maximum frequency and the tail index of extreme smog at each location are analysed. These features can provide useful information for central/local government to conduct differentiated treatments in cities within different categories and conduct similar prevention goals and control strategies among those cities belonging to the same category in a range of areas. Furthermore, hazardous hours, breaking probability and the 1-year return level of each station are demonstrated by category, based on which the future control and reduction targets of extreme smog are proposed for the cities of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei as an example.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Deng
- School of Statistics and Mathematics, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhengjun Zhang
- Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1532, USA
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Zhang J, Liu L, Wang Y, Ren Y, Wang X, Shi Z, Zhang D, Che H, Zhao H, Liu Y, Niu H, Chen J, Zhang X, Lingaswamy AP, Wang Z, Li W. Chemical composition, source, and process of urban aerosols during winter haze formation in Northeast China. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2017; 231:357-366. [PMID: 28810205 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/31/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The characteristics of aerosol particles have been poorly evaluated even though haze episodes frequently occur in winter in Northeast China. OC/EC analysis, ion chromatography, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), and soluble ions in PM2.5 and the mixing state of individual particles during a severe wintertime haze episode in Northeast China. The organic matter (OM), NH4+, SO42-, and NO3- concentrations in PM2.5 were 89.5 μg/m3, 24.2 μg/m3, 28.1 μg/m3, and 32.8 μg/m3 on the haze days, respectively. TEM observations further showed that over 80% of the haze particles contained primary organic aerosols (POAs). Based on a comparison of the data obtained during the haze formation, we generate the following synthetic model of the process: (1) Stable synoptic meteorological conditions drove the haze formation. (2) The early stage of haze formation (light or moderate haze) was mainly caused by the enrichment of POAs from coal burning for household heating and cooking. (3) High levels of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), sulfates, and nitrates formation via heterogeneous reactions together with POAs accumulation promoted to the evolution from light or moderate to severe haze. Compared to the severe haze episodes over the North China Plain, the PM2.5 in Northeast China analyzed in the present study contained similar sulfate, higher SOA, and lower nitrate contents. Our results suggest that most of the POAs and secondary particles were likely related to emissions from coal-burning residential stoves in rural outskirts and small boilers in urban areas. The inefficient burning of coal for household heating and cooking should be monitored during wintertime in Northeast China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zhang
- Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China; Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 320007, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Yong Ren
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Xin Wang
- Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Zongbo Shi
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Daizhou Zhang
- Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto 862-8502, Japan
| | - Huizheng Che
- Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Hujia Zhao
- Institute of Atmospheric Environment, China Meteorological Administration, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Yanfei Liu
- College of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology, Harbin 150022, China
| | - Hongya Niu
- Key Laboratory of Resource Exploration Research of Hebei Province, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056038, China
| | - Jianmin Chen
- Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Xiaoye Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - A P Lingaswamy
- Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Zifa Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Weijun Li
- Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250100, China; Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 320007, China.
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