Abstract
Carbonaceous material constitutes a significant part of ambient particulate matter (PM), which has become a major pollutant in recent decades due to increasing industrial activities and urbanization. In this study, size-segregated aerosol samples from a site in Tsuen Wan, HK were characterized for three carbon components: organic carbon (OC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and carbon in humic-like substances (HULIS-C). Sample collection was performed in September 2013 using a Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) with 10 stages in an aerodynamic diameter range of 0.056-18 μm. Chemical analysis of the carbon composition was done for each impactor stage to determine their concentration in each size range. Our findings indicate the size distribution of OC, WSOC and HULIS-C was primarily bi-modal with a coarse mode (> 1.8μm) and a broad accumulation mode where two peaks are resolved in the condensation and droplet submodes. Accumulation mode had a more prominent contribution to the total concentration of WSOC and HULIS-C than for OC. For all the three carbons, they peaked in the range of 0.18-0.32 μm within the condensation mode, 0.56-1 μm within the droplet mode, and 3.2- 5.6 μm within the coarse mode. Results from this study provide useful information in understanding sources and atmospheric processes that impact ambient concentrations of PM.
| Original language | English |
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| Publication status | Published - Apr 2014 |
| Event | The 21st Symposium on Chemistry Postgraduate Research in Hong Kong - Duration: 1 Apr 2014 → 1 Apr 2014 |
Conference
| Conference | The 21st Symposium on Chemistry Postgraduate Research in Hong Kong |
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| Period | 1/04/14 → 1/04/14 |
Keywords
- Air quality
- Atmospheric aerosols