Source Apportionment of PAHs Using Two Mathematical Models for Mangrove Sediments in Shantou Coastal Zone, China

Thirty-five surface sediment samples collected from three mangroves in Shantou coastal zone, China in 2007 were analyzed for a suite of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Two mathematical models were used to determine the profiles and relative contributions of PAH sources to the mangroves. The two models are principal component analyses (PCA) with multiple linear regression analysis (MLR) and positive matrix factorization (PMF). Both models identified five factors and gave excellent correlation coefficients between predicted and measured levels of 16 PAH compounds, but the results had some differences. The PAH contribution rate attributed to vehicular emission sources identified by PCA-MLR was 37.20%, but the rate identified by PMF was only 12.37%. The main sources identified by PCA-MLR were combination of biomass/coal combustion and vehicular emissions, whereas the main source identified by PMF was only biomass/coal combustion. The PMF analysis was the preferred model for the paper data set.