Caracterização físico-química de material particulado atmosférico coletado em Ipanguaçu, no vale do Açu/RN

Abstract

To understand the emission processes of pollutants to the atmosphere, as well as their chemical transformation and, consequently, eventual contamination of the atmosphere ,monitoring is important to seek identifying and quantifying the present different chemical species, mainly in the anthropogenically influenced areas influenced by industrial and transportactivities, and generation of energy. These sectors produce massive emissions of gases and particulate matter into an atmosphere. This work aimed at characterizing the suspended particulate material at a representative location of the Açu Valley exposed, among others, to biomass burning emissions, where total particulate matter was analyzed through gravimetric analysis, and chemical and morphological analysis of the particulate material were assessed through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with X-ray Dispersive Energy (EDS) detectors. Sampling was carried out by the Institute of Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte, Campus Ipanguaçu, for a period of two months (May 25, 2016 to June 26,2016 and November 1-30, 2016), each month referring to the dry and humid season, respectively. Two samplers were used: one for coarse particulate matter (HVS-MP10) and one for Total suspended Particulate Matter (HANDI-VOL). Samples were taken according to the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT), describing the High Volume Sampler (HVS) and Total Suspended Particles (PTS). Subsequently, the gravimetric analysis was carried out, where the concentration of material was calculated through the difference between the filter massbefore and after collection. The results show that average daily PM10 mass concentrations for the month of June ranged from 10.13 to 86.48 μg/m3. Mean daily mass concentrations of PTS varied from 29.86 to 146.05 μg/m3 in June, while in November mass concentrations ranged from 44.37 to 81.25 μg/m3. The pollutants concentration results were statistically related to meteorological variables to obtain a relation of the effects of those variables on pollutant concentrations. By the SEM analysis, it was possible to identify particles in agglomerated, spherical, and plaque formats. The major chemical elements of the collected samples were: S, K, Si, Al, A, S, K, Si, Al, Cl, Fe, Ba, Ca, Na, Mg and Zn. Finally, simulations of the area of origin of this particulate material were performed by using the HYSPLIT backward trajectory model.