Abstract
Distribution of inorganic ions at an urban/industrial/agricultural complex was investigated in southern Taiwan during particulate matter (PM) episode and non-episode periods, and the Micro Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) and nano-MOUDI were employed to take PM samples. In PM episode periods, the PM significantly increased in mass concentration and in the size ranges of 0.1–1.0 and 1.8–18 μm at the site. Sulfate, nitrate and ammonium were the dominant ionic species and contributed a large fraction of PM mass in different sizes. The nitrate concentration increase on episode days could be attributed to the increase of precursor gas-NO2 concentration during these periods. In addition, SO2 was significantly correlated to SO42– in the nuclei mode (PM0.1), which indicated that the gas had transferred into particulate matter. The molar equivalent ratio of {[NO3–] + [SO42–]}/[NH4+] was about 0.99 and revealed a high correlation that could indicate the presence of ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate in PM1.
Highlights
Size distributions and chemical compositions of atmospheric aerosols play important roles in their toxicity, health effects, and visibility in urban areas (Ny and Lee, 2011; Han et al, 2012)
Distribution of inorganic ions at an urban/industrial/agricultural complex was investigated in southern Taiwan during particulate matter (PM) episode and non-episode periods, and the Micro Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) and nano-MOUDI were employed to take PM samples
SO2 was significantly correlated to SO42– in the nuclei mode (PM0.1), which indicated that the gas had transferred into particulate matter
Summary
Size distributions and chemical compositions of atmospheric aerosols play important roles in their toxicity, health effects, and visibility in urban areas (Ny and Lee, 2011; Han et al, 2012). Sulfate, nitrate and ammonium were the dominant components of water-soluble ions in PM (Aneja et al, 2006; Hsieh et al, 2009; Li et al, 2009; Lin et al, 2009; Shen et al, 2009; Katzman et al, 2010; Deshmukh et al, 2011; Plaza et al, 2011; Shen et al, 2011; Zhao et al, 2011). In the South Coast Air Basin, California, USA, up to 80% of nitrate and ammonium in fine particles was formed from precursor gas, and most of it came from mobile sources such as diesel and gasoline engines (Ying and Kleeman, 2006). Han et al (2008) showed that ionic constituents accounted for 35–60% of PM2.5 mass in industrial and urban cities of Korea, and sulfate and nitrate were the major ionic species. Plaza et al (2011) indicated that the sulfate and ammonium mass was concentrated in accumulation mode, from 0.18– 0.56 μm, and nitrate concentration was higher in coarse
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