Characterization of VOC sources in an urban area based on PTR-MS measurements and receptor modelling

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 22; no. 17; pp. 13137 - 13152
• Main Authors: Stojic, A, Stojic, S Stanisic, Sostaric, A, Ilic, L, Mijic, Z, Rajsic, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-09-2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Air Pollutants - analysis; Air quality; Apportionment; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Calibration; Cities; Datasets; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Evaporation; Gases; Gasoline; Gasoline - analysis; Humans; Hydrocarbons; Industrial emissions; Industrial plant emissions; Mass Spectrometry; Measurement; Models, Theoretical; Multivariate Analysis; Nitrates; Nitrogen dioxide; Oil and Gas Industry; Oil refineries; Organic compounds; Outdoor air quality; Particulate Matter - analysis; Petrochemicals; Petrochemicals industry; Petroleum refineries; Pollutants; Protons; Public health; Refineries; Research Article; Scientific imaging; Seasons; Serbia; Spatial distribution; Studies; Sulfur dioxide; Urban areas; Vehicle emissions; Vehicle Emissions - analysis; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Volatile Organic Compounds - analysis; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Serbia; Eastern Europe; Scandinavia; Poland; MED, Greece; Slovakia; CWT; Unmix; TSA; VOC; PTR-MS; Source apportionment
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4540-5

In this study, the concentrations of volatile organic compounds were measured by the use of proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry, together with NO
x
, NO, NO
2
, SO
2
, CO and PM
10
and meteorological parameters in an urban area of Belgrade during winter 2014. The multivariate receptor model US EPA Unmix was applied to the obtained dataset resolving six source profiles, which can be attributed to traffic-related emissions, gasoline evaporation/oil refineries, petrochemical industry/biogenic emissions, aged plumes, solid-fuel burning and local laboratories. Besides the vehicle exhaust, accounting for 27.6 % of the total mixing ratios, industrial emissions, which are present in three out of six resolved profiles, exert a significant impact on air quality in the urban area. The major contribution of regional and long-range transport was determined for source profiles associated with petrochemical industry/biogenic emissions (40 %) and gasoline evaporation/oil refineries (29 %) using trajectory sector analysis. The concentration-weighted trajectory model was applied with the aim of resolving the spatial distribution of potential distant sources, and the results indicated that emission sources from neighbouring countries, as well as from Slovakia, Greece, Poland and Scandinavian countries, significantly contribute to the observed concentrations.