Day-Night Differences, Seasonal Variations andSource Apportionment of PM10-Bound PAHs overXi’an, Northwest China

Day-night PM10-bound PAHs were studied at an urban site of Xi’an from 20 December 2006 to 28 October 2007. The annual mean concentration of nighttime PAHs (285.0 ng m−3) was higher than that in daytime (239.4 ng m−3). A significant difference of PAH concentrations between daytime and nighttime was found in autumn with a coefficient of divergence (CD) of 0.23 (significant level 0.2). However, no distinct difference was observed in other seasons (with CD values < 0.2), although the difference of PAHs partition capacity in PM10 between daytime and nighttime was significant in the four seasons. Remarkable seasonal variations were observed in the total PAH levels, with a highest mean concentration of 344.6 ng m−3 in winter and a lowest mean concentration of 177 ng m−3 in summer. Positive matrix factorization results revealed that residential emission for heating is the major contributor of the elevated PAH levels in winter, accounting for 49% of the total PAH levels. The coal combustion including industrial and residential usage, contributed over 40% of the PAH emissions in PM10 of Xi’an during the one-year sampling period. These results can provide guidance for taking measures in reducing PAHs levels in the air

Saccharides in summer and winter PM2.5 over Xi'an, Northwestern China: Sources, and yearly variations of biomass burning contribution to PM2.5

Saccharides are important constituents in atmospheric aerosols but studies in northwestern China are still very limited. Here, we have measured anhydrosugars (levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan), primary sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose and trehalose), and sugar alcohols (arabitol, mannitol, sorbitol and inositol) in ambient PM2.5 samples during summer and winter in Xi&#39;an city, northwestern China. The abundance of total saccharides showed no clear seasonal variation, but apparent distinctions on the levels of the three categories and individual saccharide compounds were found. Primary sugars and particularly sucrose were dominant in summer. In contrast, levoglucosan was the predominant species in winter, contributing 60% of total saccharides. Source apportionment by positive matrix factorization revealed that airborne pollen was a major source of PM2.5 associated-saccharides in summer, accounting for 35% of total saccharides; while biomass burning activities contributed to 60% of the winter saccharides. Furthermore, an increasing trend of biomass/biofuel burning contribution to winter PM2.5 was observed in comparison with previous studies in Xi&#39;an, suggesting a change in emission sources may be underway in northwestern China.</p