Seasonal source analysis of nitrogen and carbon aerosols of PM in typical cities of Zhejiang, China.

Fine particulate matter (PM) significantly impacts global air quality and human health due to its smaller particle size and larger specific surface area. Nitrogen and carbon aerosols, as the main components of PM, play key roles in air pollution. This study identified the sources and seasonal variation of nitrogen and carbon aerosols in PM in typical cities of Zhejiang. The annual average PM concentrations of Hangzhou (HZ), Ningbo (NB), and Huzhou (HUZ) were 39.8 ± 19.1 μg m, 40.0 ± 21.5 μg m, and 50.1 ± 22.6 μg m, respectively, which exceeded the Chinese air quality limit of 35.0 μg m. The results showed that the concentrations of nitrogen aerosols (NO and NH) in water-soluble inorganic ions were higher at 9.6 ± 4.6 μg m, 9.0 ± 4.5 μg m and 11.5 ± 5.4 μg m in HZ, NB and HUZ, respectively, especially in winter, accounting for over 60% of the total. The annual average δN values of PM were 6.2 ± 1.9‰, 6.4 ± 2.2‰ and 6.7 ± 1.9‰ in HZ, NB and HZ, respectively; the δN values in winter were relatively low. A Bayesian isotopic mixing model was employed to analyse the sources of nitrogen aerosols in winter; the results showed that nitrogen concentration was mainly affected by NH and NO emitted by motor vehicle exhaust, coal combustion, biomass combustion, biogenic soil emissions, animal wastes and ocean evaporation (NB). In addition, the carbon component analysis of PM showed that the annual average mass concentration of TC accounted for 18.7%, 16.4% and 20.1% of PM in HZ, HUZ and NB, respectively. The same isotope model was used to analyse the sources of carbon aerosols; the results showed that carbon aerosols were mainly affected by the sources of motor vehicle exhaust, coal combustion, biomass combustion and dust. In the PM in Zhejiang, the most contributory sources of nitrogenous aerosols and carbon aerosols were motor vehicle exhaust sources.