Asphalt-related emissions are an understudied source of reactive organic compounds with the potential to form organic aerosol (OA). Ambient aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements of asphalt-related aerosols near a month-long road paving project showed enhanced ambient OA concentrations with a mix of primary and secondary OA signatures. For comparison, gas-phase emissions from real-world road asphalt samples at application (e.g., 140 °C) and in-use (e.g., 60 °C) temperatures were injected into an environmental chamber and an oxidation flow reactor to simulate varying degrees of oxidative aging while measuring their gas- and aerosol-phase oxidation products. Secondary OA formation was observed via both self-nucleation and condensation, with chemical properties dependent on asphalt temperature and reaction conditions. The chemical composition of less-aged asphalt-related OA observed in outdoor and laboratory measurements was similar to OA from other petrochemical-based sources and hydrocarbon-like OA source factors observed via AMS in previous urban studies. The composition of aged OA varied with the degree of oxidation, similar to oxidized OA factors observed in ambient air. Taken together, these field and laboratory observations suggest that contributions to urban OA during and after application may be challenging to deconvolve from other traditional sources in ambient measurements.
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Real-world observations of reduced nitrogen and ultrafine particles in commercial cooking organic aerosol emissions
Abstract. Cooking is an important but understudied source of urban anthropogenic fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Using a mobile laboratory, we measured PM size and composition in urban restaurant plumes. Size distribution measurements indicate that restaurants are a source of urban ultrafine particles (UFPs, particles <100 nm mobility diameter), with a mode diameter <50 nm across sampled restaurants and particle number concentrations (PNCs, a proxy for UFPs) that were substantially elevated relative to the urban background. In our observations, PM mass emitted from restaurants was almost entirely organic aerosol (OA). Aerosol mass spectra show that while emissions from most restaurants were similar, there were key mass spectral differences. All restaurants emit OA at m/z 41, 43, and 55, though the composition (e.g., the ratio of oxygenated to reduced ions at specific m/z) varied across locations. All restaurant emissions included reduced-nitrogen species detected as CxHyN+ fragments, making up ∼15 % of OA mass measured in plumes, with reduced molecular functionalities (e.g., amines, imides) that were often accompanied by oxygen-containing functional groups. The largest reduced-nitrogen emissions were observed from a commercial bread bakery (i.e., 30 %–50 % of OA mass), highlighting the marked differences between restaurants and their importance for emissions of both urban UFPs and reduced nitrogen.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2011362
- PAR ID:
- 10493765
- Publisher / Repository:
- Copernicus
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
- Volume:
- 24
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1680-7324
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1281 to 1298
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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