Size distribution and water soluble ions of ambient particulate matter on episode and non-episode days in southern Taiwan

Jiun Horng Tsai, Jian Hung Lin, Yung Chen Yao, Hung Lung Chiang

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48 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Distribution of inorganic ions at an urban/industrial/agricultural complex was investigated in southern Taiwan during particulate matter (PM) episode and non-episode periods, and the Micro Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) and nano-MOUDI were employed to take PM samples. In PM episode periods, the PM significantly increased in mass concentration and in the size ranges of 0.1-1.0 and 1.8-18 μm at the site. Sulfate, nitrate and ammonium were the dominant ionic species and contributed a large fraction of PM mass in different sizes. The nitrate concentration increase on episode days could be attributed to the increase of precursor gas-NO 2 concentration during these periods. In addition, SO 2 was significantly correlated to SO 4 2- in the nuclei mode (PM 0.1), which indicated that the gas had transferred into particulate matter. The molar equivalent ratio of {[NO 3 -] + [SO 4 2-]}/[NH 4 +] was about 0.99 and revealed a high correlation that could indicate the presence of ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate in PM1.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)263-274
Number of pages12
JournalAerosol and Air Quality Research
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012 Apr

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Pollution

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