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Carbonaceous components in atmospheric aerosol: measurement procedures and characterization.
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2002
Year
Rome Urban AreaEnvironmental ChemistryEngineeringAir Pollution MeasurementAerosol FormationAtmospheric ScienceEnvironmental EngineeringAerosol SamplingAir QualityCarbonaceous MaterialAtmospheric AerosolAir PollutionParticulate MatterPolycyclic Aromatic HydrocarbonChemical Emission
Carbonaceous material in the particulate matter was measured in Rome urban area. The carbonaceous material constitutes a significant component of total aerosol mass (30-40%) and it is composed by two main fractions, elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC). EC is essentially a primary pollutant emitted directly from incomplete combustion processes whereas OC has both primary and secondary origin. A chemical OC investigation has been carried out in order to determine the nalkanes, the n-alkanoic acids, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-PAHs by means an HRGC-MS procedure. A different seasonal distribution of these compound classes attributed to photochemical radical activity (n-alkanes and PAH decrease in spring- and summertime) and to biogenic plant emission (n-alkanoic acid increase in summertime) has been evidenced.