Abstract
Comprehensive understanding of organic and inorganic compounds in atmospheric particles of different size fractions ranging from coarse to ultrafine is essential for assessment of the impact of particles on the radiation balance. In this work the size resolved atmospheric particles were collected in the vicinity of three iron and steelmaking sites and one urban background site in Australia using an eight staged micro orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) sampler. The sampled particles were assessed using FTIR technique to determine the dominant functional groups, and XRD technique for determining the mineral content of the inorganic compounds. This study revealed variable distributions between and among bonding groups in urban and industrial areas. The hydroxyl (-OH) group (in alcohol compounds, surface OH on crystals, salt hydrate), aliphatic carbon (-CH_2) group (in methylene compounds, n-alkane), carbonyl (-CO) group (in acid halide, aryl carbonate, ketone, conjugated ketone), and amino (-NH_2) group (in primary amino compounds such as n-butylamine) in atmospheric particles were identified and most likely originated from combustion processes (industrial, transport, and domestic), sea spray, long range transport particles, and secondary organic particles sources nearby industrial and urban areas. Hematite mineral in the inorganic fraction of the atmospheric particles was found predominantly in the vicinity of the iron and steelmaking industries, which most likely originates from raw materials handling and process emissions.
Highlights
Atmospheric particles released from industrial sectors are posing significant challenges to the surrounding air quality and the climate change
Bonding structure and mineral content of atmospheric particles in the vicinity of Australian electric arc furnace and integrated steelmaking industries were investigated in this work, focusing on different size fractions from coarse to ultrafine particles for improved understanding of radiative forcing of atmospheric particles
The hydroxyl (–OH) group, aliphatic carbon (–CH2) group, carbonyl (–CO) group and amino (–NH2) group in atmospheric particles at all sampling sites were detected in this study
Summary
Atmospheric particles released from industrial sectors are posing significant challenges to the surrounding air quality and the climate change. Elemental compositions of particles provide the assessment of environmental exposure and associated risks, further analysis on bonding structure and mineral content is required, Organic compounds (carbonaceous and nitrogenous molecules) in atmospheric particles can have negative impacts on human health (Dockery et al, 1993; Alcock, 2003; Shah and Balkhair, 2011), ecosystem (Cupr et al, 2013) and the radiation balance (Hallquist et al, 2009; Ehn et al, 2014). These compounds can be generated from both natural (secondary organic particles from biogenic sources) and anthropogenic (industrial process, vehicle exhaust, wood heaters) sources. There are many studies focused on bonding structure in PM10 and PM2.5 using FTIR method (Ghauch et al, 2006; Coury and Dillner, 2008, 2009), unregulated submicron (PM1) and ultrafine particles (PM0.1) are potentially the most hazardous
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