Characterization of atmospheric particles for source apportionment | |
| Author | Lalitcha Imchuensri |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-08-18 |
| Subject(s) | Particles Aerosols |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Fine (PM₂.₅) and coarse particles (PM₁₀-₂.₅) are universal concerned due to their adverse effects to human. This study is designed to determine the mass and chemical compositions of PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀-₂.₅ at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) campus, a suburb site of Bangkok covering wet and dry season from 15 May 2007 to 29 February 2008. One hundred and thirty seven pairs of PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀-₂.₅ were collected by two co-located dichotomous samplers. The samples on quartz fiber filters were analyzed for mass concentration and ionic species, while black carbon and elements were determined using mixed cellulose filters. Higher mass concentrations of both PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ in dry season (November 2007-February 2008) were observed than those in wet season (May 2007October 2007), which is possibly due to higher activities during the period including biomass burning and more stable atmosphere. The highest concentration during a dry season was 85 ug/m3 for PM₂.₅ and 119 ug/m3 for PM₁₀ while lowest concentration on this season was 19 and 4 ug/m3 for PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀, respectively. In wet season, lower mass concentration was determined because of low activities and wet removal process. The highest mass concentration in wet season for PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ were 49 and 68 ug/m3, whereas 1 and 4 ug/m3 were the lowest values for PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀, respectively. The average 24-h concentration of PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ in all sampling period were 26±19 and 42±28 ug/m3, respectively. Two days on wet season and thirty seven days in dry season were observed with PM₂.₅ exceeding the current US EPA 24-h standard (35 ug/3). In this study black carbon was measured by 3 techniques that are reflectometer, aethalometer series Continuous Soot Monitoring System (COSMOS), and standard EC by Sunset analyzer. BC concentration from COSMOS shows 2 peaks during rush hour which are in the early morning (5:00-8:00 am) and in the evening (17:00-21:00 pm) for both rainy days and days without rain. The different black carbon concentrations were observed with differnet monitoring techniques i.e. COSMOS and Reflectometer. However, good correlation was identified (R²=0.86). Those two techniques were also compared with EC from EC/OC semi-continuous aerosol sampler. Good correlation was also presented as R²= 0.8 between EC and COSMOS and 0.7 for EC and reflectometer. The twenty elemental concentrations and ten water-soluble ions were quantified. The major components in PM₂.₅ were sulfate, ammonium, chloride and black carbon whereas the most dominant constituents in coarse particles were nitrate, calcium and sulfate. Afterwards, the source apportionment of PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀-₂.₅ was also determined using a receptor model (PMF) based on the PM composition data to identify the contributing sources to the PM. PMF analysis identified the major sources of coarse fraction (PM₁₀-₂.₅) were industry (32%), mixed nitrate (21%) and secondary sulfate (20%), whereas fine fraction (PM₂.₅) was high contributions of diesel (39.1%) and secondary sulfate (24.6%). |
| Year | 2008 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Nguyen, Thi Kim Oanh; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shrestha, Ram M.;Thammarat Koottatep; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | RTG Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2008 |