Diurnal Variation and Chemical Characteristics of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles and Their Source Fingerprints at Xiamen Bay
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Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 13: 596–607, 2013 Copyright © Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research ISSN: 1680-8584 print / 2071-1409 online doi: 10.4209/aaqr.2012.08.0206 Diurnal Variation and Chemical Characteristics of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles and Their Source Fingerprints at Xiamen Bay Tsung-Chang Li1, Chung-Yi Wu1, Wei-Hsiang Chen1, Chung-Shin Yuan1,2*, Shui-Ping Wu2, Xin-Hong Wang2, Ke Du3 1 Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 2 State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China 3 Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China ABSTRACT This study investigated the diurnal variation of mass concentration and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosol particles sampled at Xiamen Bay, located on the west bank of the Taiwan Strait. Atmospheric PM10 samples were collected at ten particulate matter (PM) sampling sites at Xiamen Bay, including five sites at the Kinmen Islands and five sites in urban Xiamen, at both daytime and nighttime during the regular and intensive sampling periods. Regular sampling was conducted to collect PM10 with high-volume samplers three times a month from April 2009 to April 2010, while intensive sampling was conducted to collect PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 with dichotomous samplers in the spring and winter of 2009 and 2010. This study further selected ten major emission sources (e.g., stone processing, power plants, soil dusts, and biomass burning) at Xiamen Bay to collect fugitive particulate samples which were then resuspended in a self-designed resuspension chamber to collect PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 with two separate dichotomous samplers for further chemical analysis. The results from PM10 sampling indicated that atmospheric aerosol particles tended to be accumulated in Xiamen Bay all year round, but especially in spring and winter. A significant diurnal variation of PM10 was observed, with higher PM10 concentrations in the daytime during the regular sampling periods. The chemical analysis results showed that the major 2– – + chemical components of PM10 were SO4 , NO3 , NH4 , OC, EC, and crustal elements (Ca, Mg, Fe, and Al), which were usually higher in the daytime than at night at Xiamen Bay. The differences were most pronounced at night, where the concentrations of most anthropogenic elements (Ni, Cu, As, and V) were higher than those in the daytime. The elemental composition of PM emitted from stone processing and the cement industry were dominated by crustal elements, particularly Ca, whereas the profile of top-soil mainly contained Al and Ca. The profiles of industrial sources were dominated by secondary inorganic aerosols and EC. Moreover, construction and road dusts contained large amounts of Fe and Al, while 2– biomass burning released large amounts of K, OC, and SO4 . Keywords: Xiamen Bay; Atmospheric particulates; Diurnal variation; Resuspension chamber; Source fingerprints. INTRODUCTION seven Air Quality Zones (AQZs) in Taiwan. Unlike Kinmen Islands, the stationary sources in metro Xiamen were Xiamen Bay located at the west bank of Taiwan Strait approximately twenty times higher than those in Kinmen has two major islands, Kinmen and Xiamen Islands, and Islands. Thus, this study also collected resuspended dusts surrounding coastal region as shown in Fig. 1. In recent from major industrial sources around Xiamen Bay for further years, the rapid development of economy and industry along physicochemical analysis of suspended particles. Atmospheric Xiamen Bay results in serious environmental problems, particulates with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm particularly poor air quality and visibility impairment. (PM10), especially the fine particle fraction (aerodynamic Ambient air quality monitoring data shows that a high diameter ≤ 2.5 μm), has been found to associate with health percentage (4.6–13.2%) of poor air quality (PSI > 100) in problem, such as mortality asthma (Anderson, et al., 1992; Kinmen Island, which is the worst air quality region among Dockery, et al., 1993; Dockery, et al., 1994). As well as the size distribution, the chemical composition of atmospheric particulates can induce health-related effects. Of particular concern is the fact that toxic trace metals, such as lead * Corresponding author. Tel.: 886-7-5252000 ext. 4409; (Pb), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), and copper (Cu), are in the Fax: 886-7-5254409 form of fine particles with a size distribution equivalent to E-mail address: [email protected] atmospheric particulates with 1.0 μm or less in diameter Li et al., Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 13: 596–607, 2013 597 China Taiwan Taiwan Strait Fig. 1. Location of ten PM10 sampling sites at Xiamen Bay. (Dongarrà et al., 2007; Zhang, 2009; Dongarrà et al., 2010; and mobile sources including industrial and automobile Lim et al., 2010). Previous investigators suggest that trace combustion processes. However, the source profiles of local metals distribute widely throughout the lung on fine particles fugitive sources from industrial and agriculture activities such could catalyze and enhance the formation of oxidants, which as road dusts, construction area, farmland dusts, cement in turn produces tissue damage (Fernández et al., 2002). industry, stone processing industry, ceramic tile industry, Previous studies reported that the chemical composition of biomass burning were limited and incomplete. Therefore, atmospheric particulates correlates with ambient air quality, the aim of this study is to collect and chemically characterize particularly the impairment of atmospheric visibility (Yuan PM10 emitted from major fugitive sources in the study area, et al., 2002; Lee et al., 2005; Yuan et al., 2006). Our recent which can be further applied for the source apportionment studies revealed that the main composition of PM10 are of PM10 by using CMB model (Ho et al., 2003; Mugica et 2– – + secondary aerosols (SO4 , NO3 , and NH4 ), crustal elements, al., 2009). and carbons at Xiamen Bay in the seasons of winter and spring (Zhao et al., 2011; Li et al., 2012; Wu et al., 2012). EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Although several previous studies have been performed on filed measurement of atmospheric PMs and their chemical Sampling Protocol of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles composition at Xiamen Bay (Wu et al., 2010; Zhao et al., In this study, ambient air quality monitoring were 2011; Li et al., 2012; Wu et al., 2012), there is no study conducted at ten particulate matter sampling sites at Xiamen focused on source characterization in terms of elemental Bay, including five sites at Kinmen Islands (Lieyu, Jinding, content of PM fractions. The chemical composition of PMs Jinsa, Guchung, and Bortsuen) and five sites at metro Xiamen emitted from various sources presents their fingerprints and (Xiamen, Daderng, Anhai, Jinjing, and Xiangzhi) as shown source profiles which can be potentially used for CMB in Fig. 1 and Table 1. Sampling sites XM and JJ located in models. The source profiles used for previous study on CMB the downtown Xiamen and Jinjing are next to a street and receptor modeling at Xiamen Bay (Li et al., 2012) were likely to be influenced by direct emissions from vehicular mainly obtained from previous researcher’s findings of the exhausts and textile industries. Air pollutants from Zhangzhou chemical composition of PMs emitted from various stationary Harbor, Xiamen Harbor, Songyu power plant and Xiamen 598 Li et al., Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 13: 596–607, 2013 Table 1. General information of particulate matter sampling sites located at Xiamen Bay. Regions Sampling site Site Abbr. Longitude Latitude Lieyu LY 118°14'30" 24°25'50" Jinding JD 118°20'14" 24°26'53" Kinmen Jinsa JS 118°24'43" 24°29'19" Islands Guchung GC 118°26'19" 24°25'18" Bortsuen BT 118°18'45" 24°24'6" Xiamen XM 118°05'25" 24°26'08" Daderng DD 118°19'49" 24°33'33" metro Anhai AH 118°28'11" 24°43'9" Xiamen Jinjing JJ 118°36'10" 24°34'34" Xiangzhi XZ 118°44'58" 24°44'44" metropolitan area would influence the ambient air quality in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles after passing at site XM during the northeastern monsoon periods, through sieves (less than 38 μm mesh size), which were then whereas air pollutants emitted from Houshi power plant homogenized manually and resuspended to the air for PM could be transported to the downwind sites. Site DD sampling and chemical analysis. The resuspended PM2.5 located at an island of Dadeng in northern Xiamen is a and PM2.5–10 samples were collected by two dichotomous tourism township with a cargo harbor. Kinmen Islands are samplers using teflon and quartz filters, respectively. This recognized as a national park and its local emission sources study collected ten major types of industrial dusts in the are well controlled. Thus, sites LY, JD, JS, GC, and BT in region surrounding Xiamen Bay and brought back to the Kinmen Islands are more likely to be influenced by Air Pollution Laboratory in the Institute of Environmental regional air pollution, especially from the upwind northern Engineering at National Sun Yat-sen University, and then and northeastern industrial areas in Jinjiang River and resuspended the dusts in a self-designed resuspension Jinjing during the northeastern monsoon seasons. chamber for sampling PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 with two separate Particulate matter sampling was conducted in the daytime dichotomous samplers (Fig. 2). After sampling, the chemical (8:00–17:00) and at nighttime (17:00–8:00), for both regular composition of atmospheric particulates, including water- and intensive sampling. Regular sampling was conducted soluble ions, metallic elements, and carbonaceous contents to collect PM10 with high-volume samplers trice a month were further analyzed (Yatkin and Bayram, 2008). This from April 2009 to April 2010, while intensive sampling study finally established the database of particulates emitted was conducted to collect fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5–10) from various industrial sources and then compare their particles with dichotomous samplers for consecutive 5 days physicochemical fingerprints at Xiamen Bay.