Semi-volatile organic compounds in fine particulate matter on a tropical island in the South China Sea

Zheng Liu; Yuxin Sun; Yuan Zeng; Yufeng Guan; Yuqi Huang; Yuping Chen; Daning Li; Ling Mo; Shejun Chen; Bixian Mai

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128071

Semi-volatile organic compounds in fine particulate matter on a tropical island in the South China Sea

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Mar 15:426:128071. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128071. Epub 2021 Dec 11.

Authors

Zheng Liu¹, Yuxin Sun², Yuan Zeng¹, Yufeng Guan¹, Yuqi Huang¹, Yuping Chen¹, Daning Li², Ling Mo³, Shejun Chen⁴, Bixian Mai⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
³ Water Quality Monitoring Section, Hainan Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Haikou 571126, China.
⁴ School of Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: shejun.chen@m.scnu.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.

PMID: 34922134
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128071

Abstract

Measurements of hazardous semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in remote tropical regions are rare. In this study, polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) [including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitrated PAHs (NPAHs), and oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs)], organophosphate esters (OPEs), and phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were measured in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) at Yongxing Island in the South China Sea (SCS). The concentrations of PACs (median = 53.5 pg/m³) were substantially low compared with previous measurements. The concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) model showed that the eastern and southern China was the main source region of PAC, occurring largely during the northeast (NE) monsoon. The PM_2.5 showed remarkably high concentrations of OPEs (median = 3231 pg/m³) and moderate concentrations of PAEs (13,013 pg/m³). Some Southeast Asian countries were largely responsible for their higher concentrations, driven by the tropical SCS monsoons. We found significant atmospheric loss of the SVOCs, which is an explanation for the low concentrations of PACs. Enhanced formation of N/OPAHs originated from tropical regions was also observed. The positive matrix factorization model was applied to apportion the SVOC sources. The results, as well as correlation analyses of the SVOC concentrations, further indicate insignificant local sources and enhanced atmospheric reactions on this island.

Keywords: Atmospheric transport; Organophosphate esters (OPEs); Phthalic acid esters (PAEs); Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Sources.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
China
Environmental Monitoring
Particulate Matter / analysis
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis
Volatile Organic Compounds*

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Volatile Organic Compounds