Chemical characterization of PM2.5 in heavy polluted industrial zones in the Guanzhong Plain, northwest China: Determination of fingerprint source profiles

Zexuan Wang; Hongmei Xu; Yunxuan Gu; Rong Feng; Ningning Zhang; Qiyuan Wang; Suixin Liu; Qian Zhang; Pingping Liu; Linli Qu; Steven Sai Hang Ho; Zhenxing Shen; Junji Cao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156729

Chemical characterization of PM_2.5 in heavy polluted industrial zones in the Guanzhong Plain, northwest China: Determination of fingerprint source profiles

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Sep 20:840:156729. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156729. Epub 2022 Jun 15.

Authors

Zexuan Wang¹, Hongmei Xu², Yunxuan Gu¹, Rong Feng¹, Ningning Zhang³, Qiyuan Wang³, Suixin Liu³, Qian Zhang⁴, Pingping Liu¹, Linli Qu⁵, Steven Sai Hang Ho⁶, Zhenxing Shen⁷, Junji Cao³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
² Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China; SKLLQG, Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China. Electronic address: xuhongmei@xjtu.edu.cn.
³ SKLLQG, Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Northwest Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China.
⁵ Hong Kong Premium Services and Research Laboratory, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁶ Hong Kong Premium Services and Research Laboratory, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512, United States.
⁷ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China; SKLLQG, Key Lab of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China.

PMID: 35714746
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156729

Abstract

Industrial emission has been proved to be an important source of atmospheric PM_2.5, which causes serious air pollution and health impacts. The air quality of the industrial zones, which are the intermediate stationary areas between the direct emissions and diffusion to the atmosphere, is always overlooked. In this study, the PM_2.5 filter samples were collected in the six representative types of industrial zones in four cities of the Guanzhong Plain in 2020. The chemical characteristics of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in the zones were investigated. The mass concentrations of 13 elements and 39 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM_2.5 were quantified. Cement and concrete (CC) and brick production (BP) exhibited a similar chemical composition profile characterized by high proportions of calcium (Ca), aluminum (Al), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), 1-nitronaphthalene (1N-NAP), and 3-nitrofluoranthene (3N-FLA). Glassware and ceramics (GC) showed a distinguishable profile with a relatively low ratio of copper/cadmium (Cu/Cd) and lead (Pb)/Cd. The profile for metal forging (MF) was abundant in vanadium (V), Pb, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (IcdP) and also recognized by particular diagnostic ratios of nitrated-PAHs (n-PAHs). The highest proportions of several metals such as chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), Cd, and fluoranthene (FLA) were found in the thermoelectric industry (TI) due to a large amount of coal consumption in the manufacture processing. Chemical production (CP) was the only industrial type using natural gas as the main fuel in this study, which shows the distinguishing feature of relatively high proportions of low molecular weight parent-PAHs (p-PAHs) and 2-ring oxygenated-PAHs (o-PAHs). This study not only attains the detailed chemical fingerprints, but also the potential tracers and ratios, which are of great significance for refining source apportionment and relieving PM_2.5 pollution contributed by the industrial sources.

Keywords: Heavy metal; Industrial zone; PAHs; PAHs diagnostic ratio; PM(2.5); Source profile.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
China
Environmental Monitoring
Lead
Particulate Matter / analysis
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Lead