Plastic Burning Impacts on Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter at Urban and Rural Sites in the USA and Bangladesh
| Published | 9 June 2022 |
|---|---|
| Journal | ACS Environmental Au |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 409-417 |
| Publisher | American Chemical Society (ACS) |
| DOI | 10.1021/acsenvironau.1c00054 |
Open access (gold)
Urban and indoor air quality in Dhaka
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide To better understand the impact of plastic burning on atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), we evaluated two methods for the quantification of 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene (TPB), a molecular tracer of plastic burning. Compared to traditional solvent-extraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) techniques, thermal-desorption (TD) GCMS provided higher throughput, lower limits of detection, more precise spike recoveries, a wider linear quantification range, and reduced solvent use. This method enabled quantification of TPB in fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) samples collected at rural and urban sites in the USA and Bangladesh. These analyses demonstrated a measurable impact of plastic burning at 5 of the 6 study locations, with the largest absolute and relative TPB concentrations occurring in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where plastic burning is expected to be a significant source of PM 2.5 . Background-level contributions of plastic burning in the USA were estimated to be 0.004–0.03 μg m –3 of PM 2.5 mass. Across the four sites in the USA, the lower estimate of plastic burning contributions to PM 2.5 ranged 0.04–0.8%, while the median estimate ranged 0.3–3% (save for Atlanta, Georgia, in the wintertime at 2–7%). The results demonstrate a consistent presence of plastic burning emissions in ambient PM 2.5 across urban and rural sites in the USA, with a relatively small impact in comparison to other anthropogenic combustion sources in most cases. Much higher TPB concentrations were observed in Dhaka, with estimated plastic burning impacts on PM 2.5 ranging from a lower estimate of 0.3–1.8 μg m –3 (0.6–2% of PM 2.5 ) and the median estimate ranging 2–35 μg m –3 (5–15% of PM 2.5 ). The methodological advances and new measurements presented herein help to assess the air quality impacts of burning plastic more broadly.
Abstract © the authors, published under a CC BY licence.
Cite this
Md. Robiul Islam, Josie Welker, Abdus Salam, Elizabeth A. Stone (2022). Plastic Burning Impacts on Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter at Urban and Rural Sites in the USA and Bangladesh. ACS Environmental Au, 2(5), 409-417. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenvironau.1c00054
Related work from the laboratory
Names in bold are laboratory members. The DOI links to the published paper.