Compositions, Sources, and Aging Processes of Aerosol Particles during Winter Hazes in an Inland Megacity of NW China

Pengju Liu; Longyi Shao; Yaowei Li; Wenhua Wang; Mengyuan Zhang; Cheng-Xue Yang; Hongya Niu; Xiaolei Feng; Daizhou Zhang

doi:10.3390/atmos13040521

Atmosphere (Mar 2022)

Compositions, Sources, and Aging Processes of Aerosol Particles during Winter Hazes in an Inland Megacity of NW China

Pengju Liu,
Longyi Shao,
Yaowei Li,
Wenhua Wang,
Mengyuan Zhang,
Cheng-Xue Yang,
Hongya Niu,
Xiaolei Feng,
Daizhou Zhang

Affiliations

Pengju Liu: State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Longyi Shao: State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Yaowei Li: State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Wenhua Wang: State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Mengyuan Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Cheng-Xue Yang: Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Hongya Niu: Key Laboratory of Resource Exploration Research of Hebei Province, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056038, China
Xiaolei Feng: State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Daizhou Zhang: Faculty of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto 862-8502, Japan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13040521
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 4
p. 521

Abstract

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As one of the largest inland megacities in Northwest (NW) China, Xi’an has been facing serious regional haze frequently, especially during winter. The composition of aerosols in Xi’an is highly complex due to its unique basinal topography and unique meteorological conditions. In this study, we characterized the morphology, size, and composition of individual aerosol particles collected during regional haze events at an urban site in Xi’an using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDX). Six types of particles were identified based on their morphology and chemical composition, including organic (41.88%), sulfate (32.36%), soot (8.33%), mineral (7.91%), K-rich (5.13%), and fly ash particles (4.49%). These results demonstrate that the organic particles made a larger contribution to haze formation than the secondary inorganic particles during the sampling period. Size distribution and dominance suggest that organic and sulfate particles exert major control on the variation trends of particle size in haze. The coating thickness of organic-cored particles was about 369 nm and that of sulfate-cored particles was about 322 nm, implying that the organic particles were more aged than the sulfate particles. The results presented in this study provide further insights into understanding haze particle formation.

Published in Atmosphere

ISSN: 2073-4433 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Physics: Meteorology. Climatology
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphere/

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