Sources Of Water-soluble Organic Carbon Research Articles

Sources of water-soluble organic carbon in fine particles at a southern European urban background site

In this study, the temporal evolution and sources of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in submicron particles at an urban background site in Elche (Spain) were investigated. Measurements of PM1 (N = 200) were carried out over one year (2021). Samples were analysed for organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), WSOC, levoglucosan, elements and major ions. A positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis was performed in order to identify the sources of WSOC on an annual and a monthly basis. During the study period, traffic restrictions due to COVID-19 led to lower concentrations of PM1 and carbonaceous compounds than expected. The WSOC annual average mass concentration was 0.95 μg⋅m−3, with maximum values during the colder months. The apportionment results indicate that the biomass burning (BB) source contributed 30.63% to WSOC levels, road traffic (RT) accounted for 23.90% of the WSOC, while the contribution of a source related to secondary organic aerosol formation (ammonium sulfate-AS) was 33.80%. Minor sources of WSOC were: soil dust (SD) and secondary nitrate (SN), which contributed 7.44% and 4.22%, respectively, to WSOC concentrations. The WSOC/OC ratio did not exhibit significant variations during the study period, since source contributions were similar for WSOC and OC. The highest values of this ratio were recorded in summer, due to the higher contribution from the AS source to WSOC concentrations.

Seasonal Variation of Aerosol Composition and Sources of Water-Soluble Organic Carbon in an Eastern City of China

The mitigation of aerosol pollution is a great challenge in many cities in China, due to the complex sources and formation mechanism of particulate matter (PM) in different seasons. To understand the particular features of pollution in China and formulate different targeted policies, aerosol samples of PM2.5 were collected from January to October of 2018 in Longyou. The temporal profile of the meteorological parameters and the concentrations of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIs) and organic matter (OM) were characterized. An Aerodyne High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) was also applied to further analyze the composition of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC). The sources of WSOC were resolved by positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis. The origin of air parcels and potential sources of WSOC were analyzed using a backward trajectory and potential source contribution function (PSCF). Winds from the northeast dominated each sampling period, and the relative humidity did not show a significant difference. The results showed that the proportion of OM in PM2.5 was the highest in summer and decreased in spring, autumn, and winter in turn. Four organic aerosol (OA) factors, including a hydrocarbon-like factor, a coal combustion factor, and two oxygenated OA factors, were identified in the WSOC by means of PMF analysis. The hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) contributed the majority of the WSOC in summer, while the contribution of the coal-combustion OA (CCOA) increased significantly in winter, suggesting the presence of different sources of WSOC in different seasons. The air parcels from the north of China and Zhejiang province contributed to the CCOA in winter, while those from the marine regions in the south and southeast of China mainly contributed to the HOA during spring and summer. The weighted PSCF (WPSCF) analysis showed that the regions of east Zhejiang province were the main contributors, which means that local and regional emissions were the most probable source areas of WSOC. It implied that not only were the emissions control of both local and regional emissions important but also that the transport of pollutants needed to be sufficiently well accounted for to ensure the successful implementation of air pollution mitigation in Longyou.

Characteristics of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in PM2.5 in inland and coastal cities, China

Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) can have direct and indirect impacts on global climate change by absorbing sunlight and altering the hygroscopic properties of aerosols. In this study, PM2.5 samples were collected simultaneously in Jinan (inland city) and Weihai (coastal city) in spring 2018 to examine the optical properties and sources of WSOC. The WSOC concentration in Jinan (9.20 ± 3.04 μg m−3) was significantly higher than that in Weihai (2.95 ± 1.54 μg m−3). The coefficient of divergence (COD) (0.41) showed that the chemical compositions of PM2.5 in Jinan and Weihai had a moderate level of discrepancy. Based on linear regression analysis, biomass burning and secondary formation by liquid phase reactions had important influence on WSOC in Jinan and Weihai, and dust source also made a non-negligible contribution to WSOC in Jinan. Short/regional transport air masses derived from the southern region of the sampling sites were dominant and carried out the most abundant WSOC. The main potential source regions for Jinan covered a larger area than that in Weihai. The absorption Ångstrom exponent (AAE) in Jinan (4.4) was higher than that in Weihai (3.86) but was lower than previous studies. The strong correlation coefficients between light absorption at 365 nm (Abs365) and WSOC indicated water-soluble BrC and WSOC might have similar emission sources. The average mass absorption efficiency at 365 nm (MAE365) in Jinan was 0.65 m2 g−1, which was much lower than that in Weihai (1.18 m2 g−1).

Facile Differentiation of Four Sources of Water-Soluble Organic Carbon in Atmospheric Particulates Using Multiple Fluorescence Spectral Fingerprints

Facile Differentiation of Four Sources of Water-Soluble Organic Carbon in Atmospheric Particulates Using Multiple Fluorescence Spectral Fingerprints

Characteristics and Sources of Water-soluble Organic Carbon/Nitrogen in PM2.5 During Spring in Changzhou

To understand the characteristics and sources of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and organic nitrogen (WSON) in atmospheric aerosols during spring in Changzhou, 84 fine particle (PM2.5) samples were collected from March 1 to May 30, 2017, in Changzhou. The water-soluble components, including water-soluble organic carbon, water-soluble total nitrogen (WSTN), water-soluble ions, and carbonaceous components (OC and EC), were analyzed. The levels of WSOC and WSON and their source characteristics were discussed. The results show that the average concentrations of PM2.5, WSOC, and WSON are 101.97, 7.63, and 1.50 μg·m-3, respectively, during the sampling period. The WSON accounts for 12.9% of the WSTN and the water-soluble inorganic nitrogen mainly exists in two forms, that is, NH4+ and NO3-, accounting for 86.15% of the WSTN. The WSOC is weakly correlated with WSON (r=0.58), indicating that WSOC and WSON do not have the same sources. The WSOC is related to SOC, K+, and secondary ions (SO42-, NH4+, and NO3-), indicating that it is mainly derived from biomass burning and secondary conversion; WSON is strongly correlated to secondary ions, indicating that it is mainly derived from secondary conversion. The wind speed is the main factor affecting the WSOC and WSON concentration levels. Furthermore, the WSON is positively correlated with the air pressure and negatively correlated with the temperature. The results of the principal component analysis show that PM2.5 mainly originates from four sources:secondary formation, dust, coal combustion, biomass burning, and the ocean. The backward trajectory analysis indicates that the total concentrations of PM2.5, WSOC, and WSON in air masses from long-distance transformation are higher than that from short-distance transmission, whereas there is no significant difference in the WSON/WSTN ratio from different transmission paths.

Size distributions of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions of water-soluble organic carbon in an urban atmosphere in Hong Kong

Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) is a significant part of ambient aerosol and plays an active role in contributing to aerosol's effect on visibility degradation and radiation budget through its interactions with atmospheric water. Size-segregated aerosol samples in the range of 0.056–18 μm were collected using a ten-stage impactor sampler at an urban site in Hong Kong over one-year period. The WSOC samples were separated into hydrophilic (termed WSOC_h) and hydrophobic fractions (i.e., the humic-like substances (HULIS) fraction) through solid-phase extraction procedure. Carbon in HULIS accounted for 40 ± 14% of WSOC. The size distribution of HULIS was consistently characterized in all seasons with a dominant droplet mode (46–71%) and minor condensation (9.0–18%) and coarse modes (20–35%). The droplet mode had a mass median aerodynamic diameter in the range of 0.7–0.8 μm. This size mode showed the largest seasonal variation in abundance, lowest in the summer (0.41 μg/m3) and highest in the winter (3.3 μg/m3). WSOC_h also had a dominant droplet mode, but was more evenly distributed among different size modes. Inter-species correlations within the same size mode suggest that the condensation-mode HULIS was partly associated with combustion sources and the droplet-mode was strongly associated with secondary sulfate formation and biomass burning particle aging processes. There is evidence to suggest that the coarse-mode HULIS largely originated from coagulation of condensation-mode HULIS with coarse soil/sea salt particles. The formation process and possible sources of WSOC_h was more complicated and multiple than HULIS and need further investigation. Our measurements indicate that WSOC components contributed a dominant fraction of water-soluble aerosol mass in particles smaller than 0.32 μm while roughly 20–30% in the larger particles.

13C‐ and 14C‐based study of sources and atmospheric processing of water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in South Asian aerosols

Water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC) is typically a large component of carbonaceous aerosols with a high propensity for inducing cloud formation. The sources of WSOC, which may be both of primary and secondary origins, are in general poorly constrained. This study assesses the concentrations and dual‐carbon isotope (14C and 13C) signatures of South Asian WSOC during a 15‐month continuous campaign in 2008–2009. Total suspended particulate matter samples were collected at Sinhagad (SINH) India and at the Maldives Climate Observatory at Hanimaadhoo (MCOH). Monsoon‐driven meteorology yields significant WSOC concentration differences between the dry winter season (0.94 ± 0.43 µg m−3 MCOH and 3.6 ± 2.3 µg m−3 SINH) and the summer monsoon season (0.10 ± 0.04 µg m−3 MCOH and 0.35 ± 0.21 µg m−3 SINH). Radiocarbon‐based source apportionment of WSOC not only shows the dominance of biogenic/biomass combustion sources but also a substantial anthropogenic fossil‐fuel contribution (17 ± 4% MCOH and 23 ± 4% SINH). Aerosols reaching MCOH after long‐range over‐ocean transport were enriched by 3–4‰ in δ13C‐WSOC relative to SINH. This is consistent with particle‐phase aging processes influencing the δ13C‐WSOC signal in the South Asian regional receptor atmosphere.

Resolving sources of water-soluble organic carbon in fine particulate matter measured at an urban site during winter.

Measurements of daily PM2.5 were carried out during winter between January 11 and February 27, 2010 in an urban area of Korea, in order to better understand the influence of sources and atmospheric processing of organic aerosols. The aerosol samples were analyzed for organic carbon and elemental carbon (OC and EC), water-soluble OC (WSOC), eight ionic species, and oxalate. The water-soluble fraction of OC was between 33 and 58% with an average of 45%. Strong correlations among WSOC, sulfate (SO 4(2-)) (R(2) = 0.69), and oxalate (R(2) = 0.82) concentrations, and between potassium (K (+)) and WSOC concentrations (R(2) = 0.81) suggest that the observed WSOC could originate from similar oxidation processes to those for SO 4(2-) and oxalate, as well as biomass burning. Also moderate correlations of the WSOC with EC and carbon monoxide (CO) indicate that there was some contribution to WSOC from primary fossil fuel combustion. Results from a principle component analysis (PCA) indicate that in addition to the biomass burning and primary non-biomass burning emissions, the observed WSOC could be formed through production pathways similar to secondary organic carbon (SOC), SO 4(2-), and oxalate. Sources of WSOC inferred, based on the correlations, were confirmed by source categories identified by the PCA. Over the study period, three haze episodes exceeding a 24 h PM 2.5 concentration of 50 μg m(-3) were identified. Of the major components in PM 2.5, EC concentrations were elevated during episode I (18-19 January), while the secondary SO 4(2-) concentrations were enhanced during episodes II (30-31 January) and III (22-23 February). However, little difference in OC concentrations among the episodes was observed. It is suggested that the aerosol particles collected during episodes II and III were more aged than those during episode I. Estimates of fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, and SOC contributions to WSOC indicate that the fossil fuel combustion provided the highest contribution (62.3%) to WSOC in episode I, while the greatest contribution (60.6%) to WSOC from SOC was observed in episode II. The results demonstrate that the sampled aerosol particles were more aged or further processed during episodes II and III than during episode I.

Investigation of organic aerosol sources using fractionated water-soluble organic carbon measured at an urban site

Concentrations of carbonaceous aerosols in PM2.5, including elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), bulk water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), fractionated WSOCs, and water-soluble inorganic species were measured between December 27, 2010 and January 20, 2011, at an urban site of Seoul, Korea. PM2.5 samples were collected twice a day, e.g., for the daytime (10:00–16:00) and nighttime (16:00–10:00), respectively. A macro-porous XAD7HP resin was used to separately group the liquid extracts into hydrophilic and hydrophobic WSOC (WSOCHPI and WSOCHPO). To better understand the contributions of primary and secondary OC (SOC) to WSOC, estimates of SOC were derived using the EC-tracer method and compared with the WSOC fractions. Good correlations among the WSOC, SO42−, and oxalate suggest that some of the observed WSOC originated from similar formation processes as those of SO42− and oxalate, i.e., formed by an in-cloud or aerosol droplet process. Primary OC was more highly correlated with the WSOCHPO (R2 = 0.56) than the WSOCHPI (R2 = 0.33), while a better correlation between predicted SOC and WSOCHPI (R2 = 0.63) was found than between the predicted SOC and WSOCHPO (R2 = 0.47). These results suggest that WSOCHPI at the site during the winter could be formed by a similar production pathway such as the secondary organic carbon, while primary combustion emissions were a dominant source for the WSOCHPO during the study period. Sources of WSOC, WSOCHPI and WSOCHPO inferred based on the correlations were also clearly demonstrated by source categories identified by principle component analysis. Measurement results suggest that group separation of bulk WSOC extracts could provide important clues for better understanding the sources of OC (or WSOC).

Natural Abundance 13C and 14C Analysis of Water-Soluble Organic Carbon in Atmospheric Aerosols

Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) constitutes a large fraction of climate-forcing organic aerosols in the atmosphere, yet the sources of WSOC are poorly constrained. A method was developed to measure the stable carbon isotope (δ(13)C) and radiocarbon (Δ(14)C) composition of WSOC for apportionment between fossil fuel and different biogenic sources. Synthetic WSOC test substances and ambient aerosols were employed to investigate the effect of both modern and fossil carbon contamination and any method-induced isotope fractionation. The method includes extraction of aerosols collected on quartz filters followed by purification and preparation for off-line δ(13)C and Δ(14)C determination. The preparative freeze-drying step for isotope analysis yielded recoveries of only ∼70% for ambient aerosols and WSOC probes. However, the δ(13)C of the WSOC isolates were in agreement with the δ(13)C of the unprocessed starting material, even for the volatile oxalic acid probe (6.59 ± 0.37‰ vs 6.33 ± 0.31‰; 2 sd). A (14)C-fossil phthalic acid WSOC probe returned a fraction modern biomass of <0.008 whereas a (14)C-modern sucrose standard yielded a fraction modern of >0.999, indicating the Δ(14)C-WSOC method to be free of both fossil and contemporary carbon contamination. Application of the δ(13)C/Δ(14)C-WSOC method to source apportion climate-affecting aerosols was illustrated be constraining that WSOC in ambient Stockholm aerosols were 88% of contemporary biogenic C3 plant origin.

Determination of Dicarboxylic Acids and Levoglucosan in Fine Particles in the Kanto Plain, Japan, for Source Apportionment of Organic Aerosols

Fine particles were collected at a suburban site in the inland Kanto plain, Japan, in the spring and winter of 2007, and the summer of 2008. Organic carbon (OC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), elemental carbon (EC), inorganic ions, and water-soluble organic compounds (dicarboxylic acids and levoglucosan) were analyzed. The WSOC/OC ratio was the highest in summer, followed by in spring, suggesting that organic aerosols were influenced by aging. The concentrations of total diacids (C2–C9) in spring and summer were higher than in winter. In each season, WSOC showed a strong positive correlation with the total diacids. Levoglucosan, which is recognized as a biomass burning tracer, was observed in a considerably higher concentration in winter than in spring or summer. In winter, WSOC also showed a strong positive correlation with levoglucosan. These results indicate that secondary formation is important as a source of WSOC and OC especially in the warm seasons, although emissions from biomass burning also contribute to WSOC in winter. By using the combination of source profile for biomass burning emission and EC tracer method, OC derived from biomass combustion in winter was calculated to be 47% of OC and OC derived from secondary formation in summer was calculated to be 75% of OC.

Insights into the Origin of Water Soluble Organic Carbon in Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter

Concentrations of fine carbonaceous aerosols (PM 2.5 ), including elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) were measured from filters collected every 6th day for one year at three urban/industrial sites in the Midwestern United States: Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Mingo Junction, Ohio. The water-soluble fraction of fine particulate OC varied considerably from site to site and monthly averages were between 39–85% at Cincinnati, 35–68% at Cleveland, and 32–65% at Mingo Junction. Average monthly concentrations of WSOC were compared with measurements of organic source tracers, including levoglucosan, to better understand the spatial and temporal distribution and sources of WSOC. Two methods of predicting the non-biomass burning portion of WSOC (WSOC NB ) were compared including estimation of secondary organic carbon (SOC) by the EC-tracer Method and comparison of the unapportioned OC from a chemical mass balance (CMB) source apportionment analysis. Poor correlations be...