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Characteristics of Mass Absorption Efficiency of Elemental Carbon in Urban Chengdu, Southwest China: Implication for the Coating Effects on Aerosol Absorption

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Abstract

To investigate the mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of elemental carbon (EC) at Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Basin, daily PM2.5 filter samples were collected during the typical month for each season in 2011. PM2.5 samples were subject to chemical analysis for water-soluble inorganic ions, organic carbon and EC, as well as biomass burning organic tracer (i.e., levoglucosan). Additionally, PM2.5 samples were further conducted for aerosol absorption coefficient (bap) measurement at the wavelengths of 370 and 880 nm. To evaluate the seasonal variations of MAEs of EC, linear regression analyses were applied to EC (determined by thermal method), black carbon (BC, determined by optical method) and bap for four seasons. The average BC concentration was 10 µg m−3 when using the manufacturer’s recommended value (16.6 m2 g−1 at the wavelength of 880 nm), which was 1.4 times the mean EC concentration. The MAE of EC at 880 nm was estimated to be 6.1 m2 g−1 in autumn, which was evidently lower than 6.7–6.9 m2 g−1 in other seasons. The higher MAE in other seasons was likely due to more effective light absorption by internally mixed EC with both transparent coatings (e.g., sulfate and nitrate) and organic matters coatings.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Special Scientific Research Funds for National Basic Research Program of China (2013FY112700), the Central Research Institute’s Basic Scientific Special Funds (No. PM-ZX703-201602-053) and Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics Open Project Fund (No. KLACP201601).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou, China

    Jun Tao, Zhisheng Zhang & Zejian Lin

  2. RCE-TEA, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yunfei Wu & Renjian Zhang

  3. Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China

    Zhisheng Zhang & Junji Cao

  4. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

    Zhenxin Shen

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  1. Jun Tao
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  2. Zhisheng Zhang
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  3. Yunfei Wu
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  4. Zejian Lin
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  5. Junji Cao
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  6. Zhenxin Shen
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  7. Renjian Zhang
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Correspondence to Jun Tao.

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Tao, J., Zhang, Z., Wu, Y. et al. Characteristics of Mass Absorption Efficiency of Elemental Carbon in Urban Chengdu, Southwest China: Implication for the Coating Effects on Aerosol Absorption. Aerosol Sci Eng 2, 33–41 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-018-0022-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-018-0022-8

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