Source apportionment and seasonal variation of PM2.5 carbonaceous aerosol in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region of China

TLDR: Principal component analysis (PCA) results indicated that the carbonaceous components came from mixed emission sources of coal combustion, vehicle exhaust, and biomass burning, which suggested that the PM2.5 contained more OC than EC.

Abstract: The seasonal variation of PM2.5 carbonaceous aerosol was investigated in Beijing and Tangshan cities of China. The characteristics of carbonaceous aerosol (e.g., organic carbon, OC and elemental carbon, EC) under different weather conditions and their source apportionment were also examined. The annual average PM2.5 concentration in the study area reached 95.6–197.3 μg/m3, showing seasonal and spatial variation. The carbonaceous materials accounted for 17.3–21.2 % of the PM2.5, and they had a much higher content under haze weather condition. It was found that the PM2.5 contained more OC than EC. Principal component analysis (PCA) results indicated that the carbonaceous components came from mixed emission sources of coal combustion, vehicle exhaust, and biomass burning. In Beijing, the vehicle emission made a contribution of 63.0 % to the carbonaceous components of PM2.5 in summer, which is higher than that in Tangshan. While in Tangshan, the coal combustion made a contribution of 30.3 %, which is much higher than that in Beijing.