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Size mass distribution of water-soluble ionic species and gas conversion to sulfate and nitrate in particulate matter in southern Taiwan

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Abstract

A Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposition Impactor (MOUDI) and a Nano-MOUDI were employed to determine the size-segregated mass distributions of ambient particulate matter (PM) and water-soluble ionic species for particulate constituents. In addition, gas precursors, including HCl, HONO, HNO3, SO2, and NH3 gases, were analyzed by an annular denuder system. PM size mass distribution, mass concentration, and ionic species concentration were measured during the day and at night during episode and non-episode periods in winter and summer. Average total suspended particle (TSP) concentrations during episode days in winter were as high as 153 ± 33 μg/m3, and PM mass concentrations in summer were as low as one-third of that in winter. Generally, PM concentration at night was higher than that in the daytime in southern Taiwan during the sampling periods. In winter during the episode periods, the size-segregated mass distribution of PM mass concentration was mostly in the 0.32–3.2-μm range, and the PM concentration increased significantly in the range of 0.32–3.2 μm at night. Ammonium, nitrate, and sulfate were the dominant water-soluble ionic species in PM, contributing 34–48 % of TSP mass. High concentrations of ammonia (12.9–49 μg/m3) and SO2 (2.6–27 μg/m3) were observed in the gas precursors. The conversion ratio was high in the PM size range of 0.18–3.2 μm both during the day and at night in winter, and the conversion ratio of episode days was 20 % higher than that of non-episode days. The conversion factor was high for both nitrogen and sulfur species at nighttime, especially on episode days.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support of National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC 94-2211-E-006-087, NSC 95-2211-E-006-287, and NSC 96-2211-E-006-004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Research Center for Climate Change and Environmental Quality, Sustainable Environmental Research Center, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Jiun-Horng Tsai & Li-Peng Chang

  2. Department of Health Risk Management, China Medical University, Taichung, 40402, Taiwan

    Hung-Lung Chiang

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  1. Jiun-Horng Tsai
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  2. Li-Peng Chang
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Correspondence to Hung-Lung Chiang.

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Responsible editor: Stuart Simpson

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Tsai, JH., Chang, LP. & Chiang, HL. Size mass distribution of water-soluble ionic species and gas conversion to sulfate and nitrate in particulate matter in southern Taiwan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 4587–4602 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1371-5

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