title: The fractionation and geochemical characteristics of rare earth elements measured in ambient size-resolved PM in an integrated iron and steelmaking industry zone.
abstract: Improved understanding of the fractionation and geochemical characteristic of rare earth elements (REEs) from steel plant emissions is important due to the unclear atmospheric signature of these elements and their adverse impact on human health and the environment. In this study, ambient particulate matter of different sizes was collected from one site in an integrated iron and steelmaking industrial zone (HG) and one urban background site with no direct industrial emissions (ZWY) during a 1-year sampling campaign in China. The total concentrations of REEs for TSP, PM10, and PM2.5 were 27.248, 14.989, 3.542 ng/m(3) in HG and 6.326, 5.274, 1.731 ng/m(3), respectively, in ZWY, which revealed the local influence of the steelmaking activities to the air quality. With respect to ZWY, the REEs in HG site are obviously fractionated in the coarser fraction, and LREEs account for more than 80 % of the total REE burden in all of the samples. Additionally, the REEs in HG and ZWY show a homogeneous trend with successively increased LREE/HREE ratios from the coarse particles to the fine particles. In our samples, La, Ce, Nd, and Sm are the most enriched rare earth elements, especially in the HG site. Moreover, ternary diagrams of LaCeSm indicate that the REEs in HG are potentially contributed by steelworks, carrier vehicles, coal combustion, and road dust re-suspension.
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qili
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liwei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jiamei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Baoshuang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China. bixh@nankai.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: YuFen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hangzhou Environmental Monitoring Center Station, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310007, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yinchang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis*; D066192:Manufacturing Industry; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth / Q000032:analysis*; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D013232:Steel
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth; D052638:Particulate Matter; D013232:Steel; D007501:Iron
keywords: Fractionation characteristic; Geochemical characteristic; PM; Rare earth elements; Source analysis; Steel plant