Abstract
Chemical characteristics of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Wuxi at urban, industrial, and clean sites on haze and non-haze days were investigated over four seasons in 2016. In this study, high concentrations of fine particulate matter (107.6 ± 25.3 μg/m3) were measured in haze episodes. The most abundant chemical components were organic matter (OM), SO42−, NO3−, elemental carbon (EC), and NH4+, which varied significantly on haze and non-haze days. The concentrations of OM and EC were 38.5 ± 5.4 μg/m3 and 12.3 ± 2.1 μg/m3 on haze days, which were more than four times greater than those on non-haze days. Source apportionment using a chemical mass balance (CMB) model showed that the dominant sources were secondary sulfate (17.7%), secondary organic aerosols (17.1%), and secondary nitrate (14.2%) during the entire sampling period. The source contribution estimates (SCEs) of most sources at clean sites were lower than at urban and industrial sites. Primary industrial emission sources, such as coal combustion and steel smelting, made larger contributions at industrial sites, while vehicle exhausts and cooking smoke showed higher contributions at urban sites. In addition, the SCEs of secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, and secondary organic aerosols on haze days were much higher than those on non-haze days, indicating that the secondary particulate matter formations process was the dominating reason for high concentrations of particles on haze days.
Highlights
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5 : particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm) is an important outdoor air pollutant of great environmental and health concern, because it could affect air quality and human health and it is the most uncertain component in the radiative forcing of climate change [1,2,3]
PM2.5 mass concentration at the 11 sites during all the sampling periods was 50.7 ± 26.3 μg/m3. It was 44.9% higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS), which specifies an annual PM2.5 of 35 μg/m3 (GB3095-2012, Grade II, 2012)
According to data obtained from the Environmental Protection Bureau of Wuxi, the average PM2.5 mass concentration of Wuxi was
Summary
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5 : particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm) is an important outdoor air pollutant of great environmental and health concern, because it could affect air quality and human health and it is the most uncertain component in the radiative forcing of climate change [1,2,3]. Quantitative understanding of these effects requires a comprehensive knowledge of the particle sources, composition, and atmospheric transformation. Aerosols from complicated anthropogenic sources are often the major contributors to the PM2.5 concentration [4,5,6]
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