Chemical and toxicological characterization of particulate emissions from diesel vehicles

Bei Wang; Yik-Sze Lau; Yuhan Huang; Bruce Organ; Hsiao-Chi Chuang; Steven Sai Hang Ho; Linli Qu; Shun-Cheng Lee; Kin-Fai Ho

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124613

Chemical and toxicological characterization of particulate emissions from diesel vehicles

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Mar 5:405:124613. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124613. Epub 2020 Nov 18.

Authors

Bei Wang¹, Yik-Sze Lau², Yuhan Huang³, Bruce Organ⁴, Hsiao-Chi Chuang⁵, Steven Sai Hang Ho⁶, Linli Qu⁷, Shun-Cheng Lee⁸, Kin-Fai Ho⁹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Science and Technology, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: beiwang@vtc.edu.hk.
² JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³ Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Green Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; Jockey Club Heavy Vehicle Emissions Testing and Research Centre, Hong Kong, China.
⁵ School of Respiratory Therapy, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan, ROC.
⁶ Division of Atmosphere Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512, United States; Hong Kong Premium Services and Research Laboratory, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁷ Hong Kong Premium Services and Research Laboratory, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁸ Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
⁹ JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: kfho@cuhk.edu.hk.

PMID: 33301973
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124613

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed chemical and toxicological characterization of the diesel particulate matter (PM) emitted from diesel vehicles running on a chassis dynamometer under different driving conditions. Chemical analyses were performed to characterize the contents of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and 31 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the collected PM samples. The OC-EC analysis results revealed that PM emissions from diesel vehicles in this study were dominated by OC and that the emission of vehicles equipped with diesel particulate filters had high OC/EC ratios. The PAH analysis results revealed that 4- and 5-ring PAHs were the dominant PAHs in the OC fraction of the PM samples. Particle toxicity was evaluated through three toxicological markers in human A549 cells, namely (1) acellular 2,7-dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) for oxidative potential, (2) interleukin-6 (IL-6) for inflammation, and (3) glutathione (GSH) for antioxidation after exposure. Statistical analyses revealed that vehicle sizes have statistically significant effects on the concentrations of the markers. Correlation analysis between PAHs and toxicological markers revealed that significant correlations existed between specific compounds and markers. Our results can be used as a reference by policy makers to formulate emission control strategies and as a dataset for other modeling studies.

Keywords: Chassis dynamometer; DCFH; Driving cycle; Glutathione (GSH); Interleukin-6 (IL-6); OCEC; PAH; PM emission.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollutants* / toxicity
Dust
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Motor Vehicles
Particulate Matter / analysis
Particulate Matter / toxicity
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / toxicity
Vehicle Emissions / analysis
Vehicle Emissions / toxicity

Substances

Air Pollutants
Dust
Particulate Matter
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Vehicle Emissions