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Atmosphere
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Particulate Matters in Ambient Air: Characteristics, Composition, and Sources
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Particulate Matters in Ambient Air: Characteristics, Composition, and Sources

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 April 2025 | Viewed by 3465

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Qingyang Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: air pollution; health effects; oxidative potential; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Air pollution is the leading environmental health risk factor globally. Extensive evidence has documented the causal relationship between exposure to ambient air pollution, particularly particles <2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Chemical composition in particulate matter from diverse sources may lead to different human health effects. The exact mechanisms by which source-generated PM affects cardiovascular are not entirely understood, while inflammatory mediators that are released under the exposures to particulate matter are thought to be central.

Several studies indicated that air pollution associated with the ambient concentration of PM2.5 differed largely across areas worldwide. For example, the annual concentration of PM2.5 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in South East Asia and the West Pacific Regions far exceeded the air quality guidelines (5 µg/m3) of the World Health Organization. Primary energy use (e.g., biomass burning, residential sector, firing power plants, mobile source) is regarded to be responsible for the large emissions (e.g., carbonaceous aerosols, metals, and ions) of air pollution in LMICs. United Nations has laid out a clear Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for energy use, which includes access to affordable energy, improvement in energy efficiency, and increased use of renewable sources.

As the Guest Editor, I invite you to consider submitting your research for publication in this Special Issue of Atmosphere focused on "Particulate Matters in Ambient Air: Characteristics, Composition and Sources". This Special Issue aims to provide a selection of studies in the form of reviews and original papers related to pollution characteristics and composition of ambient particulate matters. The studies on the mitigation of ambient particulate matters in the context of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for energy use are especially welcome. Potential authors are welcome to contact the Guest Editor with questions regarding their proposed topics for this Special Issue.

Dr. Qingyang Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • PM2.5
  • PM10
  • metals
  • carbonaceous aerosols
  • water soluble ions
  • molecular markers
  • receptor model
  • health effects
  • primary sources
  • secondary sources

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 618 KiB  
Article
Methodological Development for Studying the Chemical Composition of Exhaust Particle Emissions: Application to a Passenger Vessel Operating on Marine Gas Oil
by Ridha Mahi, Aurélie Joubert, Audrey Villot, Benoit Sagot and Laurence Le Coq
Atmosphere 2025, 16(2), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16020126 - 24 Jan 2025
Viewed by 307
Abstract
On-board emission measurements were conducted at the exhaust of a passenger ship operating under real-world conditions. The chemical composition of exhaust particulate emissions from a turbocharged four-stroke marine diesel engine, operated on Marine Gas Oil was studied. A variety of organic compounds, including [...] Read more.
On-board emission measurements were conducted at the exhaust of a passenger ship operating under real-world conditions. The chemical composition of exhaust particulate emissions from a turbocharged four-stroke marine diesel engine, operated on Marine Gas Oil was studied. A variety of organic compounds, including alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, cycloalkanes, cycloalkenes, esters, ketones, carboxylic acids, etc., were analyzed. Alkanes were the most abundant organic compounds, followed by alkenes, esters, and alcohols. Emission factors for these compounds were determined under two operating conditions: low engine load (at berth at 400 rpm/4% load, and during port maneuvers at 800 rpm/14% load) and high engine load (during cruising at 1000 rpm, 68% load). A clear increase in organic-compound emission factors was observed at lower loads. The total particulate matter emission factors were between 0.02 and 0.03 g/kWh at high-load points and exhibited significant variability under low-load conditions, from 0.02 to 2.83 g/kWh. The effect of a marine fuel additive was evaluated in this study. Using this fuel additive resulted in a significant decrease in both particulate matter and organic-compound emission factors, especially at low engine loads. Furthermore, the marine fuel additive decreased the total emission factors (EFTOCs) by a factor of 56 under low-load conditions. For high loads, the additive had no effect on the EFTOCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Particulate Matters in Ambient Air: Characteristics, Composition, and Sources)
15 pages, 2706 KiB  
Article
Estimating the Contribution of the Summer Traffic Peak to PM2.5, NOx, and NMVOCs
by Petra Dolšak Lavrič and Andreja Kukec
Atmosphere 2025, 16(1), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16010112 - 20 Jan 2025
Viewed by 408
Abstract
Air quality is becoming an important asset of modern society. Europe is adopting regulations that will enable better air quality for residents and encourage detailed study of emissions sources. Transport is recognized as a flourishing sector with the yearly growth of vehicle numbers. [...] Read more.
Air quality is becoming an important asset of modern society. Europe is adopting regulations that will enable better air quality for residents and encourage detailed study of emissions sources. Transport is recognized as a flourishing sector with the yearly growth of vehicle numbers. Even if the transport emissions trend slightly decreases, there is a concern that the increase in vehicle numbers on the road will slow down the process. Data from the bottom-up approach, estimating emissions from transit vehicles and tourism activities, was identified as a critical knowledge gap. Our study identifies and evaluates the issue of vehicle congestion on the roads during the summer, primarily driven by transit demands and tourism activities. The methodology to capture an understanding of traffic-related emissions from the summer vehicle peak was developed. Summer traffic peak was estimated by comparing the summer vehicle numbers with those of other parts of the year. Vehicle numbers were recognized by vehicle counters located on a Slovenian highway junction in the year 2021. Moreover, the study also revealed the emissions from the summer traffic peak, calculated by the COPERT emission model. We observed that, on an average summer day, there are up to 11,520 additional vehicles on Slovenian roads. It was estimated that the peak in summer passenger cars contributes up to 41,875 kg, 9542 kg, and 3057 kg of NOx, NMVOCs, and PM2.5 emissions. The maximum emissions of NOx and PM2.5 from light duty vehicles are 17,108 kg and 867 kg. There are non-negligible emissions of NMVOCs from motorcycles and these represent up to 3042 kg. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Particulate Matters in Ambient Air: Characteristics, Composition, and Sources)
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11 pages, 1375 KiB  
Article
Occurrences of Deposited Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Wax of Plant Leaves Using Laser Scanning Microscopy and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry
by Ming Yang, Qingyang Liu, Shili Tian, Zheng Yang, Yifan Yang, Peng Shao and Yanju Liu
Atmosphere 2024, 15(10), 1165; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15101165 - 29 Sep 2024
Viewed by 686
Abstract
The knowledge of the deposition fate of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on plant leaves is limited. To fill in this knowledge gap, this study strives to observe the intermolecular complex between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and epicuticular wax of plant leaves using [...] Read more.
The knowledge of the deposition fate of ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on plant leaves is limited. To fill in this knowledge gap, this study strives to observe the intermolecular complex between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and epicuticular wax of plant leaves using laser scanning microscopy. Epicuticular wax refers to a type of organic mixture that covers the outermost layer of leaves. The leaves of 20 tree species were collected in Beijing in July 2023. The concentrations of 31 PAHs were quantified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the intermolecular complexes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and epicuticular wax were found with a fluorescence spectrofluorometer and laser scanning microscopy. The levels of total PAHs across 20 tree species ranged from 12.4 ng g−1 to 68.4 ng g−1. Differences in the amounts of total PAHs across tree leaves were observed, which may be ascribed to the differences in leaf surface across tree types. The higher concentration of low-molecular-weight PAHs was found in leaves compared to high-molecular-weight PAHs. The fluorescence spectrofluorometer identified the formation of a new intermolecular complex with fluorescence emission at an excitation wavelength of 340 nm between PAHs and epicuticular wax relative to PAHs. We used laser scanning microscopy with a 405 nm laser for excitation to observe the new intermolecular complex of PAHs and epicuticular wax on the stomata and epicuticular wax of leaves. This study found the intermolecular complex of PAHs on the surface of leaves in situ, which provides important information about the deposition fate of ambient PAHs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Particulate Matters in Ambient Air: Characteristics, Composition, and Sources)
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18 pages, 1912 KiB  
Article
Tire Wear Emissions by Highways: Impact of Season and Surface Type
by Jason A. Miech, Saed Aker, Zhaobo Zhang, Hasan Ozer, Matthew P. Fraser and Pierre Herckes
Atmosphere 2024, 15(9), 1122; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15091122 - 15 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1511
Abstract
With the increasing number of electric vehicles taking to the roads, the impact of tailpipe emissions on air quality will decrease, while resuspended road dust and brake/tire wear will become more significant. This study quantified PM10 emissions from tire wear under a [...] Read more.
With the increasing number of electric vehicles taking to the roads, the impact of tailpipe emissions on air quality will decrease, while resuspended road dust and brake/tire wear will become more significant. This study quantified PM10 emissions from tire wear under a range of real highway conditions with measurements across different seasons and roadway surface types in Phoenix, Arizona. Tire wear was quantified in the sampled PM10 using benzothiazoles (vulcanization accelerators) as tire markers. The measured emission factors had a range of 0.005–0.22 mg km−1 veh−1 and are consistent with an earlier experimental study conducted in Phoenix. However, these results are lower than values typically found in the literature and values calculated from emissions models, such as MOVES (MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator). We found no significant difference in tire wear PM10 emission factors for different surface types (asphalt vs. diamond grind concrete) but saw a significant decrease in the winter compared to the summer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Particulate Matters in Ambient Air: Characteristics, Composition, and Sources)
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