Characteristics of carbonaceous aerosols: Impact of biomass burning and secondary formation in summertime in a rural area of the North China Plain

Lan Yao; Lingxiao Yang; Jianmin Chen; Xinfeng Wang; Likun Xue; Weijun Li; Xiao Sui; Liang Wen; Jianwei Chi; Yanhong Zhu; Junmei Zhang; Caihong Xu; Tong Zhu; Wenxing Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.111

Characteristics of carbonaceous aerosols: Impact of biomass burning and secondary formation in summertime in a rural area of the North China Plain

Sci Total Environ. 2016 Jul 1:557-558:520-30. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.111. Epub 2016 Mar 29.

Authors

Lan Yao¹, Lingxiao Yang², Jianmin Chen³, Xinfeng Wang¹, Likun Xue¹, Weijun Li¹, Xiao Sui¹, Liang Wen¹, Jianwei Chi¹, Yanhong Zhu¹, Junmei Zhang¹, Caihong Xu¹, Tong Zhu⁴, Wenxing Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
² Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China. Electronic address: yanglingxiao@sdu.edu.cn.
³ Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China; Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Fudan Tyndall Centre, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory for Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.

PMID: 27031303
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.111

Abstract

To determine the characteristics of carbonaceous aerosols in rural areas of the North China Plain, field measurements were conducted at Yucheng (YC) in the summers of 2013 and 2014. The concentrations of carbonaceous aerosols at YC exhibited clear diurnal variation, with higher concentrations in the early morning and at night and lower concentrations during the afternoon hours. The mass-balance method designed for particulate matter smaller than 2.5μm (PM2.5) was used to calculate the organic matter (OM)/organic carbon (OC) ratio. The value obtained, 2.07±0.05, was suggested as a reference to estimate organics in PM2.5 in rural areas of the North China Plain. Biomass burning was identified to be a significant source of carbonaceous aerosols; approximately half of the samples obtained at YC were affected by biomass burning during summer 2013. Case studies revealed that biomass burning accounted for up to 52.6% of the OC and 51.1% of the elemental carbon in PM2.5 samples. The organic coatings observed on sulphur-rich and potassium-rich particles indicated the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) from the oxidation of precursor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the aging of smoke released from biomass burning. Based on the evolution of the VOCs, the contribution of VOCs oxidation to SOA concentration was 3.21 and 1.07μgm(-3)ppm(-1) CO under conditions of low nitrogen oxide (NOx) and high NOx, respectively. Aromatics (e.g. benzene, toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene) made the greatest contribution to SOA concentration (88.4% in low-NOx conditions and 80.6% in high-NOx conditions). The results of the study offer novel insights into the effects of biomass burning on the carbonaceous aerosols and SOA formation in polluted rural areas.

Keywords: Biomass burning; Carbonaceous aerosols; OM/OC ratio; SOA formation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't