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Interpretation of Particle Number Concentration and Size Distribution at Multiple Sites in the UK

Poster · September 2022

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Bandung Institute of Technology University of Birmingham
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Interpretation of Particle Number

Concentration and Size Distribution at Multiple
Sites in the UK 1 1,2

1 1 1
Seny Damayanti , Roy M Harrison , David C Beddows , Siqi Hou , Francis Pope

1
Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
2
Department of Environmental Sciences/ Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

Introduction
UFP, particles defined as having a diameter less than 100nm, are considered by some to affect pulmonary inflammation due to their ability to reach the alveolar region of the lung, and may
subsequently translocate to other organs (HEI, 2013; Schraufnagel, 2020; Samoli et al., 2020; Stone et al., 2017). UFPs are very dynamic in the atmosphere and have high variability in size distribution,
concentration, and chemical composition, both spatially and temporally. It is essential to know their variability in order to identify sources, evaluate human exposure and design control strategies.

Objective
To analyze particle number concentration (PNC) and number size distribution (NSD) over 2015-
2020 from three urban background sites (Honor Oak Park, London North Kensington (LNK), and
Birmingham Air Quality Supersite (BAQS)), two rural background sites (Chilbolton and Harwell),
and an urban traffic site (London Marylebone Road (LMR)).
Methodology
Particle data was derived from a SMPS with an 11.8-552.3 nm size range for BAQS and a 16.5-
604.3 nm size range for other sites. TNC from Condensation Particle Counter (CPC) was also
used to compare with the SMPS data. Data analysis mainly uses the Openair package in R
software (Carslaw and Ropkins, 2012) and MS Excel..

Results and Discussion

Annual TNC : Continuous Number Particle Size Distribution :
The annual average of TNC derived from the SMPS (Fig.1), apart from data year 2020 show PNSD (Fig.3) shows a similar mode value at LMR and LNK at around ~30nm, only very
that the urban traffic site has the highest mean concentration (above 11,000#/cm3) with different in magnitude.
3 A slightly coarser mode value (~40nm) was observed in the urban background at BAQS and
the lowest mean concentration in the rural background (below 3000 #/cm ), while the
urban background sites show intermediate concentrations of 3300-4900 #/cm3 . rural Chilbolton.
For those sites with data availability in 2020 (BAQS, LMR, Chilbolton), TNC were observed The difference between the two urban background sites (LNK and BAQS) is probably
to be lower than in other years, indicating the impact of the lockdown during the pandemic, explained by greater proximity to road traffic emissions at LNK and a more aged aerosol at
while there was only a slight reduction of TNC at Chilbolton. the BAQS site, which is 1km from the nearest major highway.

Figure 3. Particle Number Size Distribution

Figure 1. Annual Average of TNC

Modal Particle Number Size Distribution : Diurnal variations of TNC:

Overall, PNC is predominantly in the Aitken mode (30-100nm) at each site (48-58%) (Fig.2). Diurnal cycles (Fig.4) at the roadside and
Nucleation mode (Dp<30nm) contributes a slightly higher proportion at the urban traffic urban background sites show a peak during
site (LMR), suggesting that diesel exhaust from vehicles is a dominant source (Harrison et the morning rush hour, followed by a
al., 2018). reduction and then an increase in the
At roadside LMR, the nucleation mode contribution has increased year by year, even in afternoon which reaches a peak at night at
2020 , from 23% in 2015 to 41% in 2020. It seems likely to be a consequence of the all sites, although numbers remain high
increasing market penetration of vehicles with diesel particle filters, leading to a decrease during the afternoon at LMR.
in Aitken and accumulation mode particle emissions. At the rural sites (Chilbolton and Harwell),
The contribution of each mode was observed not to change significantly over this period at PNC increases in the afternoon with a lower
the urban background site (LNK) or background rural Chilbolton. concentration in the early
The location of the measurement site with respect to sources, the nature of sources and the Figure 4. Diurnal Variation of TNC morning, suggesting different sources from
aging of particles can lead to not only different TNC but also to differences in the size the urban sites.
distribution (Giemsa et al., 2021).

CPC/SMPS Ratio:
TNC from CPCs is higher than
the SMPS by a factor ranging
from 1.5-3.3 (Fig. 5).
The higher measurement
derived from the CPC could
occur due to a wider size
range (from 7nm) and lower
internal losses of the CPC
instrument (Harrison et al.,
2019).
Figure 5. TNC CPC/SMPS Ratio

Figure 2. Annual Average Contribution of Each Mode to TNC

Conclusion
References The roadside site has the highest mean PNC, while the lowest was found at a rural
background site. PNC is predominantly (>50%) in the Aitken mode at all sites.
Harrison, R. M., MacKenzie, A.R., Xu, H., Alam, M.S., Nikolova, I., Zhong, J., Singh, A., Zeraati-Rezaei, S., Stark, C., Beddows, D. C. S., Liang, Z., Xu, R.,
and Cai, X. (2018) , Proc. R. Soc. A 474: 20180492. A temporal trend in the size distribution is observed at the Urban traffic site. A reduction of
Giemsa E, Soentgen J, Kusch T, Beck C, Münkel C, Cyrys J and Pitz M. (2021), Front. Environ. Sci. 8:609846. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.609846
Harrison, R. M., Beddows, D. C. S., Alam, M. S., Singh, A., Brean, J., Xu, R., Kotthaus, S., and Grimmond, S. (2019) . Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 39-55 Aitken and accumulation mode concentration is associated with an increased proportion of
Carslaw, D. C. and K. Ropkins, (2012). Environmental Modelling & Software. Volume 27-28, 52-61.
Samoli E, Rodopoulou S, Schneider A, et al. (2020). Eur Respir Rev 2020; 29: 200116 [https://doi.org/ 10.1183/16000617.0116-2020] vehicles fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter, leading to an increase of the Nucleation mode
Schraufnagel, Dean E. (2020). . Experimental & Molecular Medicine (2020) 52:311–317. https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-020-0403-3
HEI Review Panel on Ultrafine Particles. (2013). . HEI Perspectives 3. Health Effects Institute, Boston, MA. proportion in TNC.
Stone, V., Miller, M. R., Clift, M. J., Elder, A., Mills, N. L., Møller, P., ... & Cassee, F. R. (2017).. Environmental Health Perspectives, 125(10), 106002.

Acknowledgement
SD would like to acknowledge to Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) from The Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia for financial
support for her PhD study.