Application of Natural Carbon Isotopes for Emission Source Apportionment of Carbonaceous Particulate Matter in Urban Atmosphere: A Case Study from Krakow, Southern Poland

Miroslaw Zimnoch, Lucyna Samek, Leszek Furman, Katarzyna Styszko, Alicja Skiba, Zbigniew Gorczyca, Michal Galkowski, Kazimierz Rozanski and Ewa Konduracka
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Miroslaw Zimnoch: Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Lucyna Samek: Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Leszek Furman: Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Katarzyna Styszko: Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Alicja Skiba: Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Zbigniew Gorczyca: Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Michal Galkowski: Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Kazimierz Rozanski: Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
Ewa Konduracka: Department of Coronary Disease and Heart Failure, Jagiellonian University Medical College, John Paul II Hospital, ul. Prądnicka 80, 31-202 Kraków, Poland

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-10

Abstract: Successful mitigation of air pollution in large cities requires information about the structure of emission sources and their contribution to total atmospheric load. The presented research demonstrates a possibility of application of isotope tracers for the estimation of contribution of different sources to the carbonaceous fraction of PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter containing fraction below 2.5 μm) collected in the urban atmosphere of Krakow, Poland during the summer and winter seasons. Isotope mass balance approach was used to perform source apportionment analysis for those two seasons. The analysis showed that the dominant source of the carbonaceous fraction of PM 2.5 in Krakow is coal burning during the winter season and biogenic emissions during the summer season. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the uncertainty of the percentage contribution of different sources to the overall carbon load of the analyzed PM 2.5 fraction is in order of a few percent.

Keywords: particulate matter; natural carbon isotopes; air quality; emission sources (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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