Chemical composition of industrial aerosol in some regions

In this paper we discuss the data on chemical composition of aerosol emitted by enterprises in some regions during 1990-2004. The larger half of airborne surveys was carried out in 1990-1992 over largest industrial centers of Russia and Kazakhstan (Nizshnii Tagil, Khabarovsk, Nizshnevartovsk, Komsomolsk-na-Amure, Ulan-Ude, Pavlodar, Ust-Kamenogorsk, etc.). The data were obtained by collecting air samples from the emission plumes from onboard the Antonov-30 airborne-laboratory “Optik-E”. Almost all elements and ions to be determined are found in the plant emissions. Concentrations of one or another component can differ by 5 orders of magnitude, what is probably indicative of the properties of the fuel used or the technological peculiarities. The enhanced content of Si, Ca, Al, Mg, and Zn in ashes fraction is characteristic of the enterprises in Khabarovsk and Pavlodar, which used coal during the period of measurements. In addition, high concentration of the water-soluble fraction of ions NH4, SO4, and Br is observed in the emissions of enterprises in Pavlodar that is indicative of the specific peculiarities of the coal burnt. The concentration of Na, K, and Cl is higher in the plumes observed in Khabarovsk. Although the concentrations of aerosol chemical components measured in the plumes are of certain interest, they are not completely informative because the amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere depends on the source power, meteorological conditions, solar radiation that favors the transformation of impurities, etc. The air samples were additionally collected at the same heights outside the plume. Hence, one can estimate the enrichment of the ambient air by the emissions. The complex sounding of atmosphere over Norilsk industrial region in 2002 2004 allowed to observe the gas-to-particle conversion in the plume emitted from non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises and to evaluate the deposition of aerosol components formed in the plume.