Chemical characterization of atmospheric particulate matter and their source apportionment at an emerging industrial coastal city, Visakhapatnam, India

AbstractIn the present study, particulate matter (PM10) was collected from two different locations viz. Jogannapalem and Parawada sites of Visakhapatnam. During study period, PM10 concentrations were found in the range from 34.8 to 109.7 μg/m3 and from 32.3 to 137.3 μg/m3 at Jogannapalem and Parawada sites respectively. Chemical characterization of PM10 was carried out to estimate the concentration levels of various particle bound chemical species (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Pb, Cd, Cl−, F-, NO3-, SO42−, Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+). Among different species, Al was observed to have highest average concentration (4.1 μg/m3 at Jogannapalem and 3.8 μg/m3 at Parawada) at both the sampling sites followed by K at Jogannapalem and Ca at Parawada. PM10 concentration as well as trace metals concentration (except Mn and Fe) was observed to have higher concentrations at Parawada site as compared to Jogannapalem site, indicating higher pollution at Parawada.Source apportionment study carried out using PMF (USEPA PMF5.0) receptor model identified six major sources at Jogannapalem and seven predominant sources at Parawada, which are contributing to collected PM. The two study locations share five common sources viz. crustal, sea salt spray, coal combustion, fuel oil combustion and metal industry. The other sources include biomass burning at Jogannapalem; road traffic and secondary aerosols at Parawada. At Jogannapalem, biomass burning (35%) is the predominant source, whereas coal combustion (22.6%) is dominating at Parawada. PMF factor profiles were observed to have similar elemental profiles obtained at different industrial locations of Visakhapatnam