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Gas/particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coastal atmosphere of the north Yellow Sea, China

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Abstract

Samples of gas- and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected at three sampling stations (Xiaomai Island, Laohutan, and Zhangzi Island) in the north Yellow Sea, China during November 2008 and September 2009 to study their atmospheric transport potential and the gas/particle distributions. The composition of PAHs was dominated by gaseous compounds. The percentages of the particle-phase PAHs to the total concentrations were found to be higher during the heating period than the non-heating period. The ratios of naphthalene and acenaphthene to phenanthrene, chrysene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene showed an increasing trend from Xiaomai Island to Zhangzi Island, which can be called as the local atmospheric distillation of PAHs. Gas/particle partitioning coefficients (K p) and their relationship with the sub-cooled liquid vapor pressures (pºL) of PAHs were investigated. The regressions of logK p versus logpºL gave significant correlations for all samples of the three sites with r 2 values in the range 0.56–0.66 (p < 0.01). Both Junge–Pankow adsorption model and octanol–air partition coefficient absorption model tended to underestimate the sorption for most PAHs, but the absorption model appeared to be more suitable for predicting the particle fraction of PAHs than the Junge–Pankow model.

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Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This study was supported financially by the UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Project (P-I-08-atmdepdemo-2158), the National Natural Science Foundation (21007012), and the Special Fund for Marine Scientific Research in the Public Interest of China (201005034, 201105013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian, 116023, China

    Zhen Wang, Peifang Ren, Xindong Ma, Xing Liu, Guangshui Na & Ziwei Yao

  2. School of Environmental Science & Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Yan Sun

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  1. Zhen Wang
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  2. Peifang Ren
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  3. Yan Sun
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  4. Xindong Ma
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  5. Xing Liu
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  6. Guangshui Na
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  7. Ziwei Yao
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Correspondence to Ziwei Yao.

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Communicated by Gerhard Lammel

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Wang, Z., Ren, P., Sun, Y. et al. Gas/particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coastal atmosphere of the north Yellow Sea, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 5753–5763 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1588-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1588-y

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