Emission from burning coals is one of the major sources of the airborne particles in China.We carried out a study on the rare earth elements(REEs)in the inhalable particulate matter(PM10)emitted from burning coals and...Emission from burning coals is one of the major sources of the airborne particles in China.We carried out a study on the rare earth elements(REEs)in the inhalable particulate matter(PM10)emitted from burning coals and soil-coal honeycomb briquettes with different volatile contents and ash yields in a combustion-dilution system.Gravimetric analysis indicates that the equivalent mass concentration of the PM10 emitted from burning the coals is higher than that emitted from burning the briquettes.The ICP-MS analysis indicates that the contents of total REEs in the coal-burning PM10 are lower than those in the briquetteburning PM10.In addition,the contents of the light rare earth elements(LREEs)are higher than those of the heavy rare earth elements(HREEs)in the PM10 emitted from burning the coals and briquettes,demonstrating that the REEs in both the coal-burning and briquetteburning PM10 are dominated by LREEs.The higher contents of total REEs and LREEs in the coal-burning PM10 are associated with the higher ash yields and lower volatile contents in the raw coals.A comparative analysis indicates that the La/Sm ratios in the PM10 emitted from burning the coals and briquettes,being lower than 2,are lower than those in the particles from gasoline-powered vehicle emission.展开更多
基金supported by the Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges NSFC(No.41571130031)the National Basic Research Program of China(No.2013CB228503)the Yueqi Scholar Fund of China University of Mining and Technology(Beijing)。
文摘Emission from burning coals is one of the major sources of the airborne particles in China.We carried out a study on the rare earth elements(REEs)in the inhalable particulate matter(PM10)emitted from burning coals and soil-coal honeycomb briquettes with different volatile contents and ash yields in a combustion-dilution system.Gravimetric analysis indicates that the equivalent mass concentration of the PM10 emitted from burning the coals is higher than that emitted from burning the briquettes.The ICP-MS analysis indicates that the contents of total REEs in the coal-burning PM10 are lower than those in the briquetteburning PM10.In addition,the contents of the light rare earth elements(LREEs)are higher than those of the heavy rare earth elements(HREEs)in the PM10 emitted from burning the coals and briquettes,demonstrating that the REEs in both the coal-burning and briquetteburning PM10 are dominated by LREEs.The higher contents of total REEs and LREEs in the coal-burning PM10 are associated with the higher ash yields and lower volatile contents in the raw coals.A comparative analysis indicates that the La/Sm ratios in the PM10 emitted from burning the coals and briquettes,being lower than 2,are lower than those in the particles from gasoline-powered vehicle emission.