Seasonal variation and source apportionment of atmospheric carbonyl compounds in Urban Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Abstract

The concentrations of 18 atmospheric carbonyls species were measured at Nan-Chie and Hsiung-Kong sites in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, during the summer and winter of 2006. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were the most abundant carbonyls with respective annual mean concentrations of 17.99 μg/m3 and 13.69 μg/m3 at Nan-Chie, and 21.47 μg/m3 and 16.68 μg/m3 at Hsiung-Kong; altogether the two species accounted for approximately 56-57% of total carbonyls. In summer, the total concentrations of carbonyls were 74.06 μg/m3 and 89.99 μg/m3 at Nan-Chie and Hsiung-Kong, respectively. In winter, the concentrations were 37.14 μg/m3 and 46.50 μg/m3 at Nan-Chie and Hsiung-Kong, respectively. Measured results indicated the predominance of photolysis and photooxidation reactions of aldehydes in summer. In this study, receptor models using principal component analysis (PCA) and absolute principal component scores (APCS) suggest that the primary pollution sources at Nan-Chie in the summer were secondary emissions/vehicle exhausts (gasoline engines)/stationary emissions (food industry), stationary emissions (petrochemical)/waste treatment and restaurant emissions; the primary pollution sources at Nan-Chie in winter were vehicle exhausts (gasoline engines)/stationary emissions (petrochemical) and restaurant emissions. At Hsiung-Kong, the primary pollution sources in summer were secondary emissions/vehicle exhausts (gasoline engines and diesel engines)/stationary emissions (metal assembly), restaurant emissions and others; the primary pollution sources in winter were vehicle exhausts (gasoline engines)/restaurant emissions and vehicle exhausts (diesel engines)/stationary emissions (metal assembly). © Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research.