10th International Aerosol Conference
September 2 - September 7, 2018
America's Center Convention Complex
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Abstract View


Source Apportionment of Organic Particulate Matter at the Phillips 66 Research Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma

SHAOKAI GAO, Phillips 66 Research Center

     Abstract Number: 87
     Working Group: Source Apportionment

Abstract
An understanding of emission sources of primary particulate matter (PM) and chemical reaction pathways leading to formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is critical to implementing effective PM control strategies. Organic PM is the least understood component of atmospheric PM. During the last several decades, use of online aerosol mass spectrometry coupled with positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis has advanced the understanding of the origin and transformation of organic PM.

In the present study, an eight-week field campaign was conducted at the Phillips 66 Research Center in Bartlesville, OK to measure non-refractory, sub-micrometer organic PM, identify emission sources, and describe potential chemical reaction pathways of SOA formation. An aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) was used to measure organic PM. The PMF method was used for the source apportionment, which identified seven emission factors of organic PM. Gasoline vehicle exhaust, diesel vehicle exhaust, biomass burning, and industrial stationary source emissions were identified as primary emission factors. Low-volatile oxidized organic aerosols (LV-OOA), semi-volatile oxidized organic aerosols (SV-OOA), and oxidized organic aerosols from biomass burning (OOA-BB) were identified as secondary emission factors. The study found that SOA comprised 63% of measured organic aerosol mass loading. SOA formation during the daytime was mainly driven by photochemical reactions of aromatics and alkanes, which was highly dependent on the UV intensity. Of the seven identified emission factors, the biomass burning related organic aerosols and LV-OOA, (also known as long-range transported organic aerosols), which are considered as “uncontrollable” emissions, comprised more than 60% of organic aerosol mass loading. This study has helped in advancing the understanding of PM emissions and transformation processes in northeast Oklahoma due to the lack of data in the literature from this area.