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Updated: Mar 21, 2026
08:59
Measuring Sub-23 Nanometer Real Driving Particle Number Emissions Using the Portable DownToTen Sampling System
Published on: May 22, 2020
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Dynamic of submicrometer particles in urban environment
Pasquale Avino1, Maurizio Manigrasso2
1DIT, INAIL Research Area, via IV Novembre 144, I-00184, Rome, Italy. p.avino@inail.it.
Summary
Ultrafine particles (<100 nm) pose significant health risks due to their atmospheric persistence and respiratory penetration. This study measured urban aerosol size distributions in Rome, linking particle formation to vehicle emissions.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Atmospheric Chemistry
- Public Health
Background:
- Particle toxicity correlates with decreasing size, with submicrometric and ultrafine particles (<100 nm) posing greater risks.
- Submicrometric particles persist longer in the atmosphere, enabling indoor penetration and long-range transport, unlike larger particles rapidly removed by deposition.
- Accurate assessment of respiratory deposition efficiency requires high aerosol size and time resolution measurements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct time-resolved measurements of aerosol particle number size distributions in downtown Rome.
- To investigate the urban aerosol characteristics in the submicrometer range.
- To associate particle formation events with specific emission sources, particularly vehicular traffic.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Fast Mobility Particle Sizer (FMPS) and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) for high-resolution aerosol measurements.
- Conducted measurements at INAIL's Pilot Station in a high-traffic area of downtown Rome.
- Analyzed particle size distributions in the ranges of 5.6-560 nm (FMPS) and 3.5-117 nm (SMPS).
Main Results:
- Confirmed rapid transition phenomena (seconds) associated with gasoline and diesel engine emissions.
- Observed hourly average size distributions in downtown Rome that were bimodal or trimodal, with peaks at approximately 5-15 nm, 20-30 nm, and 70-100 nm.
- Linked particle formation in the nucleation mode to freshly emitted vehicular exhaust.
Conclusions:
- Time-resolved measurements are crucial for understanding urban aerosol dynamics and their health implications.
- Vehicular traffic is a significant source of ultrafine and submicrometric particles in urban environments.
- The observed particle size distributions highlight the prevalence of pollution from combustion engines in downtown Rome.
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