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Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Composition and Distribution Analysis of Bioaerosols Under Different Environmental Conditions
Published on: January 7, 2019
[Size Distributions of Different Carbonaceous Components in Ambient Aerosols]
Xiang Du1,2, Pu-Sheng Zhao2, Qun Dong2,3
1State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Abstract:
It is important to obtain the size distribution of carbonaceous components in aerosols for studying the formation and transformation mechanisms and radiation characteristics of regional aerosols. However, only a few studies on the size distribution of aerosol carbonaceous fractions have been conducted in Beijing. In this study, a Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI)-120 sampler was used to collect size-resolved aerosol samples in three seasons in Beijing, and the concentrations of different types of carbonaceous fractions were analyzed. Furthermore, the size distribution, characteristics, sources, and interrelationship of each carbonaceous component in different seasons and under different pollution levels were systematically studied. The results show that the carbonaceous components were concentrated mainly in fine particles, and the proportion of carbonaceous components in fine particles in autumn and winter was higher than that in summer. The carbonaceous components are distributed in two main modes:accumulation mode and coarse mode. Organic carbon fraction 1 (OC1) and OC2 were distributed mainly in the accumulated mode, with a higher proportion in the range of 0.056-0.56 μm, and OC3+OC4 was more abundant in the coarse mode. The concentration of Soot-elemental carbon (EC) was low but was highest in the 0.10-0.18 μm size range, which indicates that the EC emitted by high temperature combustion was distributed mainly in the ultra-fine particle size range. The Char-EC concentration was much higher, accounting for the majority of EC. The distribution appearances of the main carbonaceous components were essentially the same in the daytime and at night. Summer and winter were more conducive to the formation of SOC, and the OC/EC ratio was significantly higher than that in autumn. The OC/EC values varied greatly in different particle sizes because the water-soluble organic compounds (WSOC) were distributed mainly in the range of 0.056-0.10 μm, with significantly higher OC/EC values than other particle sizes. Sunlight and high temperature were beneficial to the oxidation of gaseous organic matter to SOC, resulting in the OC/EC ratio in summer in daytime to be significantly higher than that at night. Among the carbonaceous components, EC1 and OC1 had the strongest interrelation. In addition, EC1 also had stronger interrelation with potassium.
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