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Chemical characterization and sources of PM2.5 at 12-h resolution in Guiyang, China

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Abstract

The increasing emission of primary and gaseous precursors of secondarily formed atmospheric particulate matter due to continuing industrial development and urbanization are leading to an increased public awareness of environmental issues and human health risks in China. As part of a pilot study, 12-h integrated fine fraction particulate matter (PM2.5) filter samples were collected to chemically characterize and investigate the sources of ambient particulate matter in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, southwestern China. Results showed that the 12-h integrated PM2.5 concentrations exhibited a daytime average of 51 ± 22 µg m−3 (mean ± standard deviation) with a range of 17–128 µg m−3 and a nighttime average of 55 ± 32 µg m−3 with a range of 4–186 µg m−3. The 24-h integrated PM2.5 concentrations varied from 15 to 157 µg m−3, with a mean value of 53 ± 25 µg m−3, which exceeded the 24-h PM2.5 standard of 35 µg m−3 set by USEPA, but was below the standard of 75 µg m−3, set by China Ministry of Environmental Protection. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) was applied to determine PM2.5 chemical element concentrations. The order of concentrations of heavy metals in PM2.5 were iron (Fe) > zinc (Zn) > manganese (Mn) > lead (Pb) > arsenic (As) > chromium (Cr). The total concentration of 18 chemical elements was 13 ± 2 µg m−3, accounting for 25% in PM2.5, which is comparable to other major cities in China, but much higher than cities outside of China.

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Acknowledgements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Office of Research and Development, partially funded and participated in the research described here through cooperative agreement CR-833232-01 through the U.S. National Science Foundation-National Research Council Research Associateship Award. We acknowledge Dr. Teri L. Conner for X-Ray Fluorescence data analysis with her comments. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of EPA. It has been subjected to EPA Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. This research was also partially funded by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB430004) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40773067).

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  1. Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Longchao Liang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 99 Lincheng Western Road, Guanshanhu District, Guiyang, 550081, China

    Longchao Liang, Na Liu, Xiaohang Xu, Xinbin Feng, Lihai Shang & Guangle Qiu

  3. Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, China

    Longchao Liang & Zhuo Chen

  4. U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, 27709, USA

    Matthew S. Landis

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  1. Longchao Liang
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Liang, L., Liu, N., Landis, M.S. et al. Chemical characterization and sources of PM2.5 at 12-h resolution in Guiyang, China. Acta Geochim 37, 334–345 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-017-0248-1

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