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The fractionation and geochemical characteristics of rare earth elements measured in ambient size-resolved PM in an integrated iron and steelmaking industry zone

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Abstract

Improved understanding of the fractionation and geochemical characteristic of rare earth elements (REEs) from steel plant emissions is important due to the unclear atmospheric signature of these elements and their adverse impact on human health and the environment. In this study, ambient particulate matter of different sizes was collected from one site in an integrated iron and steelmaking industrial zone (HG) and one urban background site with no direct industrial emissions (ZWY) during a 1-year sampling campaign in China. The total concentrations of REEs for TSP, PM10, and PM2.5 were 27.248, 14.989, 3.542 ng/m3 in HG and 6.326, 5.274, 1.731 ng/m3, respectively, in ZWY, which revealed the local influence of the steelmaking activities to the air quality. With respect to ZWY, the REEs in HG site are obviously fractionated in the coarser fraction, and LREEs account for more than 80 % of the total REE burden in all of the samples. Additionally, the REEs in HG and ZWY show a homogeneous trend with successively increased LREE/HREE ratios from the coarse particles to the fine particles. In our samples, La, Ce, Nd, and Sm are the most enriched rare earth elements, especially in the HG site. Moreover, ternary diagrams of LaCeSm indicate that the REEs in HG are potentially contributed by steelworks, carrier vehicles, coal combustion, and road dust re-suspension.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21407081). The authors also thank the staff of the Hangzhou Environmental Monitoring Center Station for their cooperation in the sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People’s Republic of China

    Qili Dai, Liwei Li, Jiamei Yang, Baoshuang Liu, Xiaohui Bi, Jianhui Wu, YuFen Zhang & Yinchang Feng

  2. Hangzhou Environmental Monitoring Center Station, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310007, People’s Republic of China

    Lin Yao

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  1. Qili Dai
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  2. Liwei Li
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  3. Jiamei Yang
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Correspondence to Xiaohui Bi.

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Dai, Q., Li, L., Yang, J. et al. The fractionation and geochemical characteristics of rare earth elements measured in ambient size-resolved PM in an integrated iron and steelmaking industry zone. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 17191–17199 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6893-9

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