Abstract
The evaluation of black carbon (BC) sources is very important, especially in environmental sciences. This study shows how the contributions of biomass burning and fossil fuel/traffic to PM2.5 mass can be assessed. MABI was used for this purpose and gave the possibility to measure the transmission of light at different wavelengths. Absorption coefficients were calculated from measurements data and recalculated for concentrations of eBC. The samples of PM2.5 fraction were collected from February 1, 2020 to March 27, 2021 every third day in Krakow, Poland (50°04' N, 19°54'47" E). The concentrations of equivalent BC (eBC) from fossil fuel/traffic and biomass burning were in the range 0.82–11.64 μg m−3) and 0.007–0.84 μg m−3, respectively. At the same time, PM2.5 concentrations varied from 3.14 to 55.24 μg m−3. It means that about 18 % of PM2.5 mass belongs to eBC and 11.3 % of this value comes from biomass burning. The eBC contribution is the significant part of PM2.5 mass and we observed seasonal variation of the eBC concentration during the year with the peak in winter. The contribution of biomass burning to PM2.5 mass is more stable during the whole year. The eBC concentration during workdays is a bit higher than during weekend days but biomass burning is similar for both days (work and weekend taken as the mean for the whole period).
Highlights
For many years, scientists have conducted air pollution research that led to the possibility of successful identification of numerous aerosol particular matter (PM) components harmful to the environment and as such to human health
The raw data obtained by Multi-wavelength absorption black carbon instrument (MABI) were calculated according to the methodology described above and were transformed to absorption coefficients (ε), equivalent black carbon mass concentrations
The present study describes the methodology for the determination of equivalent BC (eBC)
Summary
Scientists have conducted air pollution research that led to the possibility of successful identification of numerous aerosol particular matter (PM) components harmful to the environment and as such to human health. The largest contributor to air pollution and global change is the emission of the carbonaceous particle which is produced during the combustion of biomass and fossil fuel (Petzold et al, 2013). Black carbon (BC) is the one fraction of the carbonaceous aerosol which is produced during incomplete combustion (Diapouli et al, 2017; European Environment Agency, 2013; Petzold et al, 2013). BC is characterized by the strong absorbs of all wavelengths of solar radiation (Bond and Bergstrom, 2006; Petzold et al, 2013; U.S EPA (U.S Environmental Protection Agency), 2012). Different measurement techniques and instruments were used to describe and determine the BC mass These techniques are usually based on light absorption scattering or thermal radiation measurements. Our study aims to analyze the results of light absorption coefficients and BC mass concentrations which were obtained for different wavelengths. We believe that our work will be valuable for organizations and institutes which have just started or continue working with MABI for the comparison or verification of the results
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