Abstract:
Objective To investigate the concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Taiyuan Yingze District, Taiyuan, China in 2020, analyze the pollution characteristics of PM2.5-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and preliminarily determine sources of pollution.
Methods PM2.5 samples were collected from the top floor of a building in Yingze District, Taiyuan, from the 10th to the 16th day of every month in 2020. The PM2.5 mass concentration was evaluated through calculating the mass difference before and after filter membrane sampling. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the PAHs contamination levels and explore the contamination characteristics of PAHs in the heating and non-heating seasons. The contamination sources were analyzed using the characteristic ratio method.
Results The median of daily mass concentrations of PM2.5 and PAHs in Yingze District, Taiyuan in 2020 were 70.46 and 15.04 ng/m3, respectively. The median of daily mass concentrations of PM2.5 in the heating and non-heating seasons were 80.45 and 62.99 μg/m3, respectively, exhibiting a significant difference (z=-4.01, P < 0.05). The median values of mass concentrations of PAHs were 39.96 and 9.21 ng/m3, respectively, also exhibiting a significant difference (z=-5.60, P < 0.05). The constituent ratios of PAH monomers and ring numbers indicated a similar trend between the heating and non-heating seasons. Fluoranthene and benzobfluoranthene had the highest ratios, with a cumulative ratio of about 30%, followed by pyrene and chrysene, with a cumulative ratio of about 20%. In both seasons, the ratios of ring numbers were as follows: 4 rings > 5 rings > 6 rings > 3 rings > 2 rings. Specifically, 4 rings accounted for about 40%, and 5 rings accounted for about 25%. The characteristic ratio of 4 rings/(5 rings + 6 rings) was 1.03, suggesting that a local pollution source. The characteristic ratios of BaP/BghiP, FlT/(FlT + Pyr), and BaA/(BaA + Chr) were 0.87, 0.61, and 0.37, respectively, suggesting that coal/biomass combustion was the pollution source. The characteristic ratio of Ind/(Ind + BghiP) was 0.30, suggesting traffic as the pollution source.
Conclusion The pollution levels of PM2.5 and PAHs in Yingze District, Taiyuan in 2020 were significantly higher in the heating season than in the non-heating season. Coal combustion and traffic were the main sources of PAHs in Yingze District.