On the possibility for separate determination of pyrolyzed products (soot and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in aerosols by EPR spectrometry

The present paper demonstrates: the applicability of EPR spectrometry for s eparate estimation of soot (EC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in aerosols. The content of EC is obtained directly because of their parama gnetic properties whereas diamagnetic PAH, adsorbed on the soot, are conver ted to paramagnetic forms by oxidation over silica/alumina catalyst. In ord er to fulfill the goal of our study at this: stage only few samples of aero sols are investigated after being collected at four different locations: ne ar and distant to motorway, office and cafeteria. The obtained results show that the quantities of soot and PAH in all cases are mug m(-3). However, t heir content varies depending on the place of sample collection. The follow ing order of decreasing soot quantity is found: motorway > urban air > cafe teria > office whereas for PAH the order is cafeteria similar or equal to m otorway > urban air > office. The obtained results are discussed in the lig ht of the pollution sources at the sampling places. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.