Aerosol Composition and Source Apportionment in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area with PIXE/PESA/STIM and Multivariate Analysis

Journal Article · Thu Oct 12 00:00:00 EDT 2006 · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 6(12):4591-4600

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-4591-2006· OSTI ID:894456

Johnson, Kirsten S; de Foy, B; Zuberi, Bilal M; Molina, Luisa; Molina, Mario J; Xie, YuLong; Laskin, Alexander; Shutthanandan, V

Aerosols play an important role in the atmosphere but are poorly characterized, particularly in urban areas like the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA). The chemical composition of urban particles must be known to assess their effects on the environment, and specific particulate emissions sources should be identified to establish ef- 5 fective pollution control standards. For these reasons, samples of particulate matter _2.5 µm (PM2.5) were collected during the MCMA-2003 Field Campaign for elemental and multivariate analyses. Proton-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE), Proton-Elastic Scattering Analysis (PESA) and Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (STIM) techniques were done to determine concentrations of 19 elements from Na to Pb, hydrogen, and 10 total mass, respectively. The most abundant elements from PIXE analysis were S, Si, K, Fe, Ca, and Al, while the major emissions sources associated with these elements were industry, wind-blown soil, and biomass burning. Wind trajectories suggest that metals associated with industrial emissions came from northern areas of the city whereas soil aerosols came from the southwest and increased in concentration during 15 dry conditions. Elemental markers for fuel oil combustion V and Ni correlated with a large SO2 plume to suggest an anthropogenic, rather than volcanic, emissions source. By subtracting major components of soil and sulfates determined by PIXE analysis from STIM total mass measurements, we estimate that approximately 50% of PM2.5 consisted of carbonaceous material.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 894456
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-50168; 19792; KP1704020; TRN: US200701%%373
• Journal Information: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 6(12):4591-4600, Vol. 6, Issue 12; ISSN 1680--7324
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
08 HYDROGEN
09 BIOMASS FUELS
AEROSOLS
BIOMASS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COMBUSTION
FUEL OILS
HYDROGEN
ION MICROSCOPY
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS
PARTICULATES
PIXE ANALYSIS
PLUMES
POLLUTION CONTROL
SOILS
SULFATES
TRAJECTORIES
URBAN AREAS
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory