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Particle size distribution and gas–particle partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls in the atmosphere in Beijing, China

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Abstract

Size-fractionated samples of urban particulate matter (PM; ≤1.0, 1.0–2.5, 2.5–10, and >10 μm) and gaseous samples were simultaneously obtained to study the distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the atmosphere in Beijing, China. Most recent investigations focused on the analysis of gaseous PCBs, and much less attention has been paid to the occurrence of PCBs among different PM fractions. In the present study, the gas–particle partitioning and size-specific distribution of PCBs in atmosphere were investigated. The total concentrations (gas + particle phase fractions) of Σ12 dioxin-like PCBs, Σ7 indicator PCBs, and ΣPCBs were 1.68, 42.1, and 345 pg/m3, respectively. PCBs were predominantly in the gas phase (86.8–99.0 % of the total concentrations). The gas–particle partition coefficients (K p ) of PCBs were found to be a significant linear correlated with the subcooled liquid vapor pressures (P L 0) (R 2 = 0.83, P < 0.01). The slope (m r ) implied that the gas–particle partitioning of PCBs was affected both by the mechanisms of adsorption and absorption. In addition, the concentrations of PCBs increased as the particle size decreased (>10, 2.5–10, 1.0–2.5, and ≤1.0 μm), with most of the PCBs contained in the fraction of ≤1.0 μm (53.4 % of the total particulate concentrations). Tetra-CBs were the main homolog in the air samples in the gas phase and PM fractions, followed by tri-CBs. This work will contribute to the knowledge of PCBs among different PM fractions and fill the gap of the size distribution of particle-bound dioxin-like PCBs in the air.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21361140359, 91543108, and 21321004) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDB14020000).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Qingqing Zhu, Minghui Zheng, Guorui Liu, Xian Zhang, Shujun Dong & Lirong Gao

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Qingqing Zhu, Guorui Liu, Xian Zhang, Shujun Dong & Lirong Gao

  3. Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056, China

    Minghui Zheng & Yong Liang

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  1. Qingqing Zhu
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  2. Minghui Zheng
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  5. Shujun Dong
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Correspondence to Minghui Zheng.

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Responsible editor: Constantini Samara

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Zhu, Q., Zheng, M., Liu, G. et al. Particle size distribution and gas–particle partitioning of polychlorinated biphenyls in the atmosphere in Beijing, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 1389–1396 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7936-y

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