Size distribution and chemical characteristics of particles from crop residue open burning in North China

Crop residue open burning is an important emission source of ambient particles in China.This study analyzed the particle emission characteristics of crop residue open burning through combustion experiments with a novel open combustion simulation device using three typical crop straws in north China(corn,wheat,and rice).Particle samples size ranging from 0.006–9.890μm were collected by an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor plus,a high size-resolution instrument capable of dividing particles into 14 size stages.The size distributions of organic carbon(OC),elemental carbon(EC),water-soluble ions,and elements were analyzed,and source chemical profiles were constructed for PM0.1,PM1,PM2.5,and PM10.The number concentration of particles was concentrated in the Aiken nuclei mode(0.006–0.054μm),accounting for 75%of the total number,whereas the mass concentration was concentrated in the accumulation mode(0.054–0.949μm),accounting for 85.43%of the mass loading.OC,EC,Cl−,and K(include total K and water-soluble K)were the major chemical components of the particles,whose mass percentage distributions differed from those of other components.These fivemain components exhibited a bell-shaped size distribution in the 0.006–9.890μm range,whereas the other components exhibited a U-shaped distribution.Among the chemical profiles for PM0.1–PM10,OC was the most important component at 10–30%,followed by EC at 2%–8%.The proportions of K^(+),Cl^(−),and K varied substantially in different experimental groups,ranging from 0–15%,and K+and Cl−were significantly correlated(r=0.878,α=0.000).

Comprehensive characterization of ambient nanoparticles collected near an industrial science park:Particle size distributions and relationships with environmental factors

We investigated the characteristics of ambient particles and their relationships with various environmental factors, including gaseous pollutants （CI-h, non-methane hydrocarbons （NMHC）, total hydrocarbons （THC）, NOx, CO, SO2）, meteorological parameters （humidity, temperature）, and time （day/night, workday/weekend）. We used an electrical low-pressure cascade impactor to measure the number and size distributions of ambient particles （0.007-10 ~m） that were collected approximately 1 km northwest of Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan between February and May 2007. The number concentrations of particles were enhanced through photochemical reactions during the day. In addition, high traffic flow during workdays increased the formation of particulates. Except for SO2, all of the gaseous pollutants we studied （CH4, NMHC, THC, NOx, CO） correlated positively with the total number concentrations of ambient particles during daytime, indicating that they might contribute to the particulate burden. The poorer relationship between the SO2 level and the total number concentration of particles suggests that SO2 might participate indirectly in the nucleation process during particle formation, The high enrichment factors for Zn, Pb, Cu, and Mn, which mostly comprised the ultrafine particles （diameter： 〈 0.1 Ixm） and fine particles （diameter： 0.1-1 ~tm）, presumably arose from emissions from traffic and high technology factories. Heterogeneous reactions on solid particles might play a role in the removal of SOx and NOx from the atmosphere. Sulfides and nitrides can further react with these local pollutants, forming specific Cu-containing compounds： Cut （39%）, CuSO4 （34%）, and Cu（NO3）2 （27%）, within the ambient particles in this industrial area.