Characterization of iron compounds from urban and rural aerosol sources

Iron plays an important role in the chemistry and physics (by varying the hygroscopicity) of the atmosphere. Bulk samples were taken from an air-conditioning device, from the electrofilter of a gas-oil power station of the Technical University of and from rural sites near Darmstadt, situated between medium-altitude mountains and with a climate dominated by air masses from the west. Samples were collected in urban and rural (meadow) air, from different waste incineration power stations, from the exhausts of a gasoline and from a diesel motor car, and from a private gas fired heating system. The samples were characterized for elemental composition by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), Mößbauer spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The total Fe content varied in a large range from 10 to 1900 ng Fem-3 air or from 10 to 560 mg Feg-1 aerosol. Iron compounds were identified as goethite, hematite, magnetite, Fe silicates, Fe sulfates, and Fe containing alloys