[Characteristics and Resources of Fly Ash Particles in the Snowpack of Jinfo Mountain, Chongqing]

Huan Jing Ke Xue. 2015 Dec;36(12):4381-8.
[Article in Chinese]

Abstract

Snow can preserve the atmospheric information, which makes it become a good media in studying regional environment. Jinfo Mountain with an elevation of 2251.1 m, located at the transition zone between Sichuan basin and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, is deeply affected by human activities, and snowfall is the main form of precipitation during the winter. While the literature focus on single spherical particles in this area is uncommon. Five snow samples were collected, and determined morphology and chemical composition of 132 single spherical particles by the scanning electron microscope couples with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (SEM-EDS). Results show that snowfall in Jinfo Mountain includes the massive fly ash particles with 1.64 µm in average diameter and 1.09 in average roundness which contains smooth particles, rough particles and soot particles, accounting for 80. 31% , 14. 39% and 5.30% of statistical particles respectively. Furthermore, on the basis of chemical information obtained from EDS, the fly ash particles counted in this research can be classified into 5 types, namely, Si-dominant particles, C-dominant particles, Fe-dominant particles, Al-dominant particles and Ti-dominant particles, which make up 34.09%, 49.24%, 12.88%, 2.27% and 1.52% respectively. In conclusion, it can be inferred, based on the analysis of meteorological information, the properties of fly ash particles, and backward air mass trajectory and dispersion analysis, that C-dominant fly ash mainly comes from daily life and industry activities, Si-dominant fly ash particles may originate from the plant industry located in west Chingqing, north of Guizhou province, central of Hunan province, Zhejiang province, Jiangxi province and the west of Guangdong province, while the activities of foundry and iron or steel plants in the west of Chongqing, the north of Guizhou province and the central of Hunan province may be the main sources of Fe-dominant fly ash particles in our samples.

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / analysis*
  • China
  • Coal Ash / analysis*
  • Iron
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Snow / chemistry*
  • Soot
  • Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Coal Ash
  • Soot
  • Iron