Compound-specific radiocarbon analysis of benzene polycarboxylic acids for source apportionment of polyaromatic organic matter in ambient aerosols

• Polyaromatic organic matter (POM) is an important group of pollutants and light absorbers in ambient aerosols, which consists of a wide range of chemicals with fused benzene rings. POM in ambient aerosols is mainly derived from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuel and biomass. Source apportionment of POM is crucial for advising efficient mitigation of anthropogenic emissions, but that is a challenge due to the complicated composition of POM and ambient aerosols. Benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs) have recently been introduced as molecular markers of atmospheric POM. Compound-specific radiocarbon analysis of BPCAs is expected to be a powerful tool for apportioning fossil sources and contemporary (i.e., biomass burning) sources of POM in ambient aero-sols, yet this application is still lacking. We developed a method for radiocarbon analysis of BPCAs substituted with 3-6 carboxylic groups (B6CA, B5CA, B4CAs and B3CAs). BPCAs were isolated with preparative liquid chromatography with high recoveries (>= 85%). The method is validated with reference materials with fossil and contemporary radiocarbon signatures. Successful radiocarbon analysis of BPCAs was achieved for these reference materials after correcting for the presence of average blanks (B6CA: 1.2 +/- 0.2 mu g, B5CA: 2.3 +/- 0.6 mu g, individual B4CAs: 2.7 +/- 0.2 mu g and individual B3CAs: 6.9 +/- 0.7 mu g). Source apportionment of POM based on radiocarbon

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Preparative liquid chromatography

Compound -specific radiocarbon analysis

Black carbon

Polyaromatic organic matter

Source apportionment

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)