ALBERT

Description: Measuring particle size distribution accurately down to approximately 1 nm is needed for studying atmospheric new particle formation. The scanning particle size magnifier (PSM) using diethylene glycol as a working fluid has been used for measuring sub-3 nm atmospheric aerosol. A proper inversion method is required to recover the particle size distribution from PSM raw data. Similarly to other aerosol spectrometers and classifiers, PSM inversion can be deduced from a problem described by the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. We tested the performance of the stepwise method, the kernel function method (Lehtipalo et al., 2014), the H&A linear inversion method (Hagen and Alofs, 1983), and the expectation–maximization (EM) algorithm. The stepwise method and the kernel function method were used in previous studies on PSM. The H&A method and the expectation–maximization algorithm were used in data inversion for the electrical mobility spectrometers and the diffusion batteries, respectively (Maher and Laird, 1985). In addition, Monte Carlo simulation and laboratory experiments were used to test the accuracy and precision of the particle size distributions recovered using four inversion methods. When all of the detected particles are larger than 3 nm, the stepwise method may report false sub-3 nm particle concentrations because an infinite resolution is assumed while the kernel function method and the H&A method occasionally report false sub-3 nm particles because of the unstable least squares method. The accuracy and precision of the recovered particle size distribution using the EM algorithm are the best among the tested four inversion methods. Compared to the kernel function method, the H&A method reduces the uncertainty while keeping a similar computational expense. The measuring uncertainties in the present scanning mode may contribute to the uncertainties of the recovered particle size distributions. We suggest using the EM algorithm to retrieve the particle size distributions using the particle number concentrations recorded by the PSM. Considering the relatively high computation expenses of the EM algorithm, the H&A method is recommended for preliminary data analysis. We also gave practical suggestions on PSM operation based on the inversion analysis.

Description: The predominating role of aerosol Fuchs surface area, AFuchs, in determining the occurrence of new particle formation (NPF) events in Beijing was elucidated in this study. The analysis was based on a field campaign from 12 March to 6 April 2016 in Beijing, during which aerosol size distributions down to  ∼  1 nm and sulfuric acid concentrations were simultaneously monitored. The 26 days were classified into 11 typical NPF days, 2 undefined days, and 13 non-event days. A dimensionless factor, LΓ, characterized by the relative ratio of the coagulation scavenging rate over the condensational growth rate (Kuang et al., 2010), was applied in this work to reveal the governing factors for NPF events in Beijing. The three parameters determining LΓ are sulfuric acid concentration, the growth enhancement factor characterized by contribution of other gaseous precursors to particle growth, Γ, and AFuchs. Different from other atmospheric environments, such as in Boulder and Hyytiälä, the daily-maximum sulfuric acid concentration and Γ in Beijing varied in a narrow range with geometric standard deviations of 1.40 and 1.31, respectively. A positive correlation between the estimated new particle formation rate, J1.5, and sulfuric acid concentration was found with a mean fitted exponent of 2.4. However, the maximum sulfuric acid concentrations on NPF days were not significantly higher (even lower, sometimes) than those on non-event days, indicating that the abundance of sulfuric acid in Beijing was high enough to initiate nucleation, but may not necessarily lead to NPF events. Instead, AFuchs in Beijing varied greatly among days with a geometric standard deviation of 2.56, whereas the variabilities of AFuchs in Tecamac, Atlanta, and Boulder were reported to be much smaller. In addition, there was a good correlation between AFuchs and LΓ in Beijing (R2 = 0.88). Therefore, it was AFuchs that fundamentally determined the occurrence of NPF events. Among 11 observed NPF events, 10 events occurred when AFuchs was smaller than 200 µm2 cm−3. NPF events were suppressed due to the coagulation scavenging when AFuchs was greater than 200 µm2 cm−3. Measured AFuchs in Beijing had a good correlation with its PM2.5 mass concentration (R2 = 0.85) since AFuchs in Beijing was mainly determined by particles in the size range of 50–500 nm that also contribute to the PM2.5 mass concentration.

Description: New particle formation (NPF) and subsequent particle growth occur frequently in various atmospheric environments. Significant influence of transport on aerosol size distributions is commonly observed, especially for non-regional NPF events. With certain assumptions and approximations, a population balance method is proposed to examine the influence of transport on the temporal evolution of aerosol size distributions during NPF events. The method is derived from the aerosol general dynamic equation in the continuous form. Meteorological information (e.g., wind speed, wind direction, and water vapor mixing ratio) was used to complement the analysis. The NPF events observed in Southeast Tibet, Fukue Island, and urban Beijing were analyzed using the proposed method. Significant contribution of transport to the observed aerosol size distributions is found during the NPF events in both Southeast Tibet and Fukue Island. The changes in the contribution of transport have a good correlation with the changes in wind speed and direction. This correlation indicates that local mountain and valley breezes govern the observed new particles at the Southeast Tibet site. Most NPF events observed at Fukue Island are closely related to the long-range transport of aerosols and gaseous precursors due to the movement of air masses. Regional NPF events are typically observed in urban Beijing and the contribution of transport to the observed aerosol size distributions is negligible when compared to other processes such as condensational growth and coagulation scavenging. In a relatively clean atmospheric environment, the proposed method can be used to characterize the contribution of transport to particles in the size range from ∼10 to ∼50 nm. During intense NPF events in a relatively polluted atmospheric environment, however, the estimated contribution of transport is sensitive to the uncertainties in condensational growth and coagulation scavenging due to the dominance of their corresponding terms in the population balance equation.

Description: New particle formation (NPF) and the subsequent particle growth occur frequently in various atmospheric environments. Significant influence of transport on aerosol size distributions is commonly observed, especially for non-regional NPF events. With certain assumptions and approximations, a population balance method is proposed to examine the influence of transport on the temporal evolution of aerosol size distributions during NPF events. The method is derived from the aerosol general dynamic equation in the continuous form. Meteorological information (e.g., wind speed, wind direction, water vapor mixing ratio) was used to complement the analysis. The NPF events observed in South-East Tibet, Fukue Island, and urban Beijing were analyzed using the proposed method. Significant contribution of transport to the observed aerosol size distributions is found during the NPF events in both South-East Tibet and Fukue Island. The changes in the contribution of transport is in good correlation with the changes in wind speed and direction. This correlation indicates that local mountain and valley breezes govern the observed new particles at the South-East Tibet site. Most NPF events observed at Fukue Island are closely related to the long-range transport of aerosols and gaseous precursors due to the movement of air masses. Regional NPF events are typically observed in urban Beijing and the contribution of transport to the observed aerosol size distributions is negligible compared to condensational growth and coagulation scavenging. In relatively clean atmospheric environment, the proposed method can be used to characterize the contribution of transport to particles in the size range from ~10nm to ~50nm. However, during intense NPF events in relatively polluted atmosphere, the estimated contribution of transport is sensitive to the uncertainties in condensational growth and coagulation scavenging due to the dominance of their corresponding terms in the population balance equation.

Description: The predominating role of aerosol Fuchs surface area, AFuchs, in determining the occurrence of new particle formation (NPF) events in Beijing was elucidated in this study. Analysis was based on a field campaign from March 12th to April 6th, 2016, in Beijing, during which aerosol size distributions down to ~ 1 nm and sulfuric acid concentration were simultaneously monitored. The 26 days were classified into 11 typical NPF days, 2 undefined days, and 13 non-event days. A dimensionless factor, LΓ, characterizing the relative ratio of the coagulation scavenging rate over the condensational growth rate and predicting whether or not a NPF event would occur (Kuang et al., 2010), was applied. The three parameters determining LΓ are sulfuric acid concentration, the growth enhancement factor characterizing contribution of other gaseous precursors to particle growth, Γ, and AFuchs. Different from other atmospheric environment such as in Boulder and Hyytiälä, the variations of daily maximum sulfuric acid concentration and Γ in Beijing are in a narrow range with geometric standard deviations of 1.40 and 1.31, respectively. Positive correlation was found between estimated new particle formation rate, J1.5, and sulfuric acid concentration with a mean fitted exponent of 2.4. However, sulfuric acid concentration on NPF days is not significantly higher than that on non-event days. Instead, AFuchs varies greatly among days in Beijing with a geometric standard deviation of 2.56, while it is relatively stable at other locations such as Tecamac, Atlanta, and Boulder. Good correlation was found between AFuchs and LΓ in Beijing (R2 = 0.88). It appears that the abundance of gaseous precursors such as sulfuric acid in Beijing is high enough to have nucleation, however, it is AFuchs that determines the occurrence of NPF event in Beijing. 10 in 11 NPF events occurred when AFuchs is smaller than 200 μm2/cm3, and the NPF event was suppressed due to coagulation scavenging when AFuchs is larger than 200 μm2/cm3. Measured AFuchs is in good correlation with PM2.5 mass concentration (R2 = 0.85) since AFuchs in Beijing is mainly determined by particles in the size range of 50–500 nm that also contribute to PM2.5 mass concentration.

Description: Measuring particle size distribution accurately down to approximately 1 nm is needed for studying atmospheric new particle formation. The scanning particle size magnifier (PSM) using diethylene glycol as the working fluid has been used for measuring sub-3 nm atmospheric aerosol. A proper inversion method is required to recover the particle size distribution from PSM raw data. Similar to other aerosol spectrometers and classifiers, PSM inversion can be deduced to a problem described by the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. We tested the performance of the step-wising method, the kernel function method (Lehtipalo et al., 2014), the H&A linear inversion method (Hagen and Alofs, 1983), and the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The step-wising method and the kernel function method were used in previous studies on PSM. The H&A method and the expectation-maximization algorithm were used in data inversion for the electrical mobility spectrometers and the diffusion batteries (Maher and Laird., 1985), respectively. In addition, Monte Carlo simulation and laboratory experiments were used to test the accuracy and precision of the particle size distributions recovered using four inversion methods. When all of the detected particles are larger than 3 nm, the step-wising method may report false sub-3 nm particle concentrations because of assuming an infinite resolution, while the kernel function method and the H&A method occasionally reports false sub-3 nm particles because of using the unstable least square method. The accuracy and precision of the recovered particle size distribution using the EM algorithm are the best among the tested four inversion methods. Compared to the kernel function method, the H&A method reduces the uncertainty while keeping a similar computational expense. The measuring uncertainties in the present scanning mode may contribute to the uncertainties of the recovered particle size distributions. We suggest using the EM algorithm to retrieve the particle size distributions using the particle number concentrations recorded by the PSM. Considering the relatively high computation expenses of the EM algorithm, the H&A method is recommended to be used for preliminary data analysis. We also gave practical suggestions on PSM operation based on the inversion analysis.

Description: The accuracy in quantification of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) using a Q-ACSM has been comprehensively investigated in this work. SOA samples were generated under simulated photochemical oxidation conditions in a 4.5m3 Teflon chamber from three different volatile organic compounds (VOC) of atmospheric relevant concentrations (dozens of ppbv): α-pinene, isoprene, and toluene, representing both biogenic and anthropogenic VOC. Different SOA oxidation states were achieved by changing the relative ratio of the VOC precursor to the oxidants (O3 or OH). A scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and an aerosol particle mass analyzer (APM) were used to determine the number-size distribution and the exact mass of the chamber-generated SOA, which were then used to deduce the SOA effective density and mass concentration. Results showed that aerosol mass concentration measured by the Q-ACSM based on SMPS calibration alone may be associated with considerable errors due to the fact that the effective density of SOA at different oxidation state can change substantially. More importantly, the sensitivity of the Q-ACSM to a specific type of SOA was found to be anti-correlated with the aerosol oxidation state regardless of the VOC precursors. This may be due to the decreasing of relative ionization efficiency (RIE) or the collection efficiency (CE) of the Q-ACSM for more oxidized SOA. To pinpoint the actual cause, ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) seed particles were injected into the chamber before SOAs were produced and the CE for a specific SOA sample was hence determined with reference to the changes in sulfate signals. Our experiment results along with previous literature reports strongly implied that as the SOA oxidation state increases, SOA will transform gradually from a liquid state (CE≈1) into a solid (or glassy) state with a CE of 0.2~0.5. Meanwhile, the RIE of OA decreased substantially when SOA transformed from hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) into more oxygenated OA (OOA) and may further decrease as O/C continued to increase. Our results indicated that the current Q-ACSM calibration procedure using a constant RIE may lead to somewhat underestimation of more oxidized OOA but overestimation of less oxidized HOA, i.e., a variable RIE shall be applied, most likely as a function of the SOA oxidation state.

Description: A proton transfer reaction ion-drift chemical ionization mass spectrometer (PTR-ID-CIMS) equipped with a hydronium (H3+O) ion source was developed and deployed near an industrial zone in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China in spring 2015 to investigate industry-related emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Air pollutants including formaldehyde (HCHO), aromatics, and other trace gases (O3 and CO) were simultaneously measured. Humidity effects on the sensitivity of the PTR-ID-CIMS for HCHO detection were investigated and quantified. The performances of the PTR-ID-CIMS were also validated by intercomparing with offline HCHO measurement technique using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone (DNPH) cartridges and the results showed fairly good agreement (slope  =  0.81, R2  =  0.80). The PTR-ID-CIMS detection limit of HCHO (10 s, three-duty-cycle averages) was determined to be 0.9–2.4 (RH  =  1–81.5 %) parts per billion by volume (ppbv) based on 3 times the standard deviations of the background signals. During the field study, observed HCHO concentrations ranged between 1.8 and 12.8 ppbv with a campaign average of 4.1 ± 1.6 ppbv, which was comparable with previous HCHO observations in other similar locations of China. However, HCHO diurnal profiles showed few features of secondary formation. In addition, time series of both HCHO and aromatic VOCs indicated strong influence from local emissions. Using a multiple linear regression fit model, on average the observed HCHO can be attributed to secondary formation (13.8 %), background level (27.0 %), and industry-related emissions, i.e., combustion sources (43.2 %) and chemical productions (16.0 %). Moreover, within the plumes the industry-related emissions can account for up to 69.2 % of the observed HCHO. This work has provided direct evidence of strong primary emissions of HCHO from industry-related activities. These primary HCHO sources can potentially have a strong impact on local and regional air pollution formation in this area of China. Given the fact that the YRD is the largest economic zone in China and is dense with petrochemical industries, primary industrial HCHO emissions should be strictly monitored and regulated.

Description: A proton transfer reaction ion-drift chemical ionization mass spectrometer (PTR-ID-CIMS) equipped with a hydronium (H3+O) ion source was developed and deployed near an industrial zone in the Yangtze-River-Delta (YRD) region of China in spring 2015 to investigate industry-related emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Air pollutants including formaldehyde (HCHO), aromatics, along with other trace gases (O3 and CO) were simultaneously measured. Humidity effects on the sensitivity of the PTR-ID-CIMS for HCHO detection were investigated and quantified. The performances of the PTR-ID-CIMS were also validated by inter-comparing with off-line HCHO measurement technique using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone (DNPH) cartridges and the results showed fairly good agreement (slope = 0.81, R2 = 0.80). The PTR-ID-CIMS detection limit of HCHO (10-min average) was determined to be 1.7 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) based on three times the standard deviations of the background signals. During the field study, observed HCHO concentration ranged between 1.8 and 12.8 ppbv with a campaign average of 4.1 ± 1.6 ppbv, which was comparable with previous HCHO observations in other similar locations of China. However, HCHO diurnal profiles showed little feature of secondary formation. In addition, time series of both HCHO and aromatic VOCs indicated strong influence from local emissions. Using a multiple linear regression fit model, on average the observed HCHO can be respectively attributed to secondary formation (13.8 %), background level (27.0 %), and industry-related emissions, i.e., combustion sources (43.2 %) and chemical productions (16.0 %). Moreover, within the plumes the industry-related emissions can account for up to 69.2 % of the observed HCHO. This work has provided direct evidence of strong primary emissions of HCHO from industry-related activities. These primary HCHO sources can potentially have strong impact on local and regional air pollution formation in this area of China. Given the fact that the YRD is the largest economic zone in China and is dense with petrochemical industries, primary industrial HCHO emissions should be strictly monitored and regulated.

Description: New particle formation (NPF) is one of the major sources of atmospheric ultrafine particles. Due to the high aerosol and trace gas concentrations, the mechanism and governing factors for NPF in the polluted atmospheric boundary layer may be quite different from those in clean environments, which is however less understood. Herein, based on long-term atmospheric measurements from January 2018 to March 2019 in Beijing, the nucleation mechanism and the influences of H2SO4 concentration, amine concentrations, and aerosol concentration on NPF are quantified. The collision of H2SO4–amine clusters is found to be the dominating mechanism to initialize NPF in urban Beijing. The coagulation scavenging due to the high aerosol concentration is a governing factor as it limits the concentration of H2SO4–amine clusters and new particle formation rates. The formation of H2SO4–amine clusters in Beijing is sometimes limited by low amine concentrations. Summarizing the synergistic effects of H2SO4 concentration, amine concentrations, and aerosol concentration, we elucidate the governing factors for H2SO4–amine nucleation for various conditions.