Study of particulate matter of Akure, Nigeria using a sharp-cut inertial filter combined with an impactor-a preliminary study

Abstract

In this study, the particulate matter (PM10) was studied over a six month period (from August 2017 to January 2018) at an urban and a suburban site (Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria). Three different sites were used, namely: Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA); the National Commission for Museum and Monuments, Akure, and Science and Education Development Institute (SEDInst), Oba Ile. The monthly PM10 in these locations during the studied period ranged from 60.73 to 287.97 μm3 at FUTA, 96.1–175.63 μm3 for the National Commission for Museum and Monuments, Akure, while it ranged from 92.72 to 204.48 μm3 at SEDInst. The results were compared with national and international standards. It was observed that the PM10 were above the recommended limits. Meteorological parameters (Rainfall, relative humidity (RH), temperature, precipitation, wind speed and direction) were obtained from a meteorological center and analyzed statistically. The essence in the study was to find out their relationship with PM10. The value of R of the PM10 samples had positive correlation with rain (r = 0.561, 0.820, 0.408), RH (r = 0.487, 0.799, 0.318), and precipitation (r = 0.388, 0.486, 0.784). There were strong correlations between RH and temperature (r = 0.741) and RH and wind (r = 0.977). This study suggested that individual meteorological factors had effects on PM10 concentration.