Journal
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
Volume 45, Issue 2, Pages 420-427Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.09.063
Keywords
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Diagnostic ratios; Reactivity; Air pollution; Source apportionment
Funding
- Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic (MoE)
- CHMI, Zlin region
- Czech Moravian Cement
- TOCOEN
- European Union [CZ.1.05/2.1.00/01.0001]
- MEYS [MSMT 0021622412]
- MoE [SP/1B1/30/07]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Ratios of levels of 9 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in air at central European sites during 1996-2008 were used to assess the suitability of 5 commonly used diagnostic ratios (DRs) for PAH source apportionment. DRs derived from a detailed literature study on emission factors were reflected in ambient air samples only at sites located near major sources. A significant seasonality was observed in a long-term time series of ambient DRs at a background site indicating possible capability of this method to reflect changes in source characteristics. The results of a mass balance study suggest that current knowledge of PAH reactivities is insufficient for a source apportionment based on DRs at receptor sites, even when limited to major types of PAH sources. However, DRs could be used to narrow down ozone and hydroxyl radical reaction rate coefficients' uncertainties: k(O3)((2)) of pyrene and benzo(ghi)perylene in the particulate phase seem to be <= 10% of the highest rate coefficient measured using model aerosols in the laboratory and k(O3)((2)) of indeno(1,2,3cd)pyrene in the gas phase could be higher than previously estimated by three orders of magnitude. The suitability of DRs for source apportionment at (especially background) receptor sites cannot be expected in the general case. However, measurements carried out close to sources are in accordance with literature data suggesting that the ratios of benzo(a)anthracene/(benzo(a)anthracene + chrysene) and indeno(123cd)pyrene/(indeno(123cd)pyrene + benzo(ghi)perylene) are capable of distinguishing between traffic and residential heating, while the ratio of anthracene/(anthracene + phenanthrene) was the least useful DR due to its low variability. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available