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Organic aerosols in the air of Milan, Italy. The IIA‐CNR measurement campaign of 2000–2001
Author(s) -
Cecinato Angelo,
Scianò Maria Concetta Tomasi,
di Menno di Bucchianico Alessandro
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of separation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.72
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1615-9314
pISSN - 1615-9306
DOI - 10.1002/jssc.200390051
Subject(s) - environmental chemistry , pyrene , chemistry , combustion , air quality index , aerosol , particulates , environmental science , organic chemistry , meteorology , physics
Abstract Inhalable aerosols collected in downtown Milan during a whole‐year field campaign (from November 2000 to October 2001) were investigated to determine amounts of n ‐alkanes, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), including benzo[ a ]pyrene (BaP), nitrated PAH (NPAH), and monocarboxylic n ‐alkanoic acids. Combustion processes including vehicle emission were confirmed as the most important sources affecting air quality, whereas release of organic material from biota contributed a few percent. The occurrence of in‐situ reactions in the atmosphere promoted by oxidants modified, to some extent, the composition of both PAH and NPAH fractions, by reducing the amount of BaP present in the aerosols and increasing that of NPAH.