Carbon composition of PM10 and PM2.5 in Bangkok ambient air from a city center sampling site

Sivarin Duangkaew; Wongpun Limpaseni; Panwadee Suwattiga

Authors

Sivarin Duangkaew Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330
Wongpun Limpaseni Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330
Panwadee Suwattiga Division of Environmental Technology, Department of Agro-Technology, Faculty of Applied Science, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800, Thailand

Keywords:

PM10, PM2.5, Black carbon (BC), Organic carbon (OC), Elemental carbon (EC), Char-EC, Soot-EC

Abstract

PM₁₀ and PM_2.5concentrations can adversely affect the respiratory and cardiac health of humans and also reduce visibility. Black carbon (BC) aerosols absorb solar radiation and have been shown to be the second largest contributor to global warming after greenhouse gases. Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) composition differs for different emission sources, and this difference is useful in identifying and controlling both PM_2.5 and BC, the two major causes of air pollution and global warming. The objectives of this study were to measure the carbon composition of aerosols and to find relationships among the different constituents that can be used to identify the emission sources of PM₁₀, PM_2.5and BC in the ambient air of the Bangkok city center at Chulalongkorn University. PM₁₀ and PM_2.5were collected with a dichotomous air sampler located on the roof of the five-story Environmental Engineering building. The samples were collected for 24 hours every 6 days in both dry and wet seasons from December, 2011, to July, 2012. OC and EC were analyzed with thermal-optical methods. Concentrations of BC were measured with a microaethalometer for 15 days in the dry season. The results showed that in the dry season, the average PM₁₀ and PM_2.5concentrations were 80 µg/m³ and 48 µg/m³, respectively. The average ratio of PM_2.5to PM₁₀ concentrations was 0.60. In the wet season, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5concentrations were less than in the dry season: 45 µg/m³ and 23 µg/m³, respectively. The average ratio of PM_2.5 to PM₁₀ concentrations was 0.51. The PM₁₀ and PM_2.5concentrations in the wet season were approximately half of the concentrations in the dry season. BC concentrations ranged from 2.33 – 5.50 µg/m³, with a mean of 3.64 µg/m³.

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