TY - JOUR
T1 - Sulphuric acid and aerosol particle production in the vicinity of an oil refinery
AU - Sarnela, Nina
AU - Jokinen, Tuija
AU - Nieminen, Tuomo
AU - Lehtipalo, Katrianne
AU - Junninen, Heikki
AU - Kangasluoma, Juha
AU - Hakala, Jani
AU - Taipale, Risto
AU - Schobesberger, Siegfried
AU - Sipilä, Mikko
AU - Larnimaa, Kai
AU - Westerholm, Henrik
AU - Heijari, Juha
AU - Kerminen, Veli Matti
AU - Petäjä, Tuukka
AU - Kulmala, Markku
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Neste Oil personnel for their help and cooperation. Jukka Teittinen is acknowledged for his help with the measurements and data. We thank the tofTools team for providing tools for mass spectrometry data analysis. This work was partially funded by the Academy of Finland ( 251427 , 139656 , Finnish centre of excellence 141135 , 272041 ) and the European Research Council (ATMNUCLE) project number 227463 .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/10/1
Y1 - 2015/10/1
N2 - In this paper we introduce in-situ observations of trace gases, aerosol particles and their precursors in the vicinity of an oil refinery and industrial area in Kilpilahti, Southern Finland. We conducted a one-month measurement campaign near the oil refinery during summertime when the sulphur dioxide concentrations at the site are typically the highest. The source areas around the measurement location were divided into three sectors: oil refinery area, industrial area and non-industrial area. The atmospheric concentrations of aerosols and trace gases showed a large temporal variability, when exposed to the different source areas. The median sulphur dioxide concentrations for the oil refinery, industrial and non-industrial area were 1.88 ppbv, 0.75 ppbv and 0.38 ppbv, respectively, and the corresponding sulphuric acid concentrations were 11.5 × 106 molecules/cm3, 4.4 × 106 molecules/cm3 and 1.3 × 106 molecules/cm3. The observed concentrations were similar to what have been measured in urban or industrial sites. The ratio between sulphuric acid and sulphur dioxide was the highest when the air mass was coming from the oil refinery. The correlation between the sulphuric acid and 1-2 nm particle concentrations was significant, but the composition of the particles remained unknown as no neutral sulphuric acid clusters were detected with the mass spectrometer. Only a few new particle formation events were observed during the measurement period, and during these events a large fraction of the particle growth could be explained by sulphuric acid condensation.
AB - In this paper we introduce in-situ observations of trace gases, aerosol particles and their precursors in the vicinity of an oil refinery and industrial area in Kilpilahti, Southern Finland. We conducted a one-month measurement campaign near the oil refinery during summertime when the sulphur dioxide concentrations at the site are typically the highest. The source areas around the measurement location were divided into three sectors: oil refinery area, industrial area and non-industrial area. The atmospheric concentrations of aerosols and trace gases showed a large temporal variability, when exposed to the different source areas. The median sulphur dioxide concentrations for the oil refinery, industrial and non-industrial area were 1.88 ppbv, 0.75 ppbv and 0.38 ppbv, respectively, and the corresponding sulphuric acid concentrations were 11.5 × 106 molecules/cm3, 4.4 × 106 molecules/cm3 and 1.3 × 106 molecules/cm3. The observed concentrations were similar to what have been measured in urban or industrial sites. The ratio between sulphuric acid and sulphur dioxide was the highest when the air mass was coming from the oil refinery. The correlation between the sulphuric acid and 1-2 nm particle concentrations was significant, but the composition of the particles remained unknown as no neutral sulphuric acid clusters were detected with the mass spectrometer. Only a few new particle formation events were observed during the measurement period, and during these events a large fraction of the particle growth could be explained by sulphuric acid condensation.
KW - Atmospheric measurements
KW - Mass spectometry
KW - New particle formation
KW - Oil refinery
KW - Sulphur dioxide
KW - Sulphuric acid
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84939810883&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.08.033
DO - 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.08.033
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84939810883
SN - 1352-2310
VL - 119
SP - 156
EP - 166
JO - Atmospheric Environment
JF - Atmospheric Environment
ER -