Je. Oh et al., Gas/particle partitioning of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in atmosphere; evaluation of predicting models, ATMOS ENVIR, 35(24), 2001, pp. 4125-4134
The gas/particle partitioning of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and fura
ns (PCDD/Fs) was measured at three sites for a year in order to monitor the
variation of PCDD/Fs levels and describe their partitioning. The air conce
ntrations of PCDD/Fs ranged from 71 to 1161 fg I-TEQ/m(3) and large changes
in these levels did not correlate with seasonal changes during this study.
Different homolog patterns were observed in the gas/particle phase. High c
hlorinated dioxin/furans dominated the particle phase while low chlorinated
dioxin/furans dominated the gas phase. The high correlation coefficient be
tween log [(PCDD/Fs(vap))(TSP)/(PCDD/Fs(pat))] and 1/T was observed in lowe
r chlorinated dioxin/furans unlike in OCDD/F. The slope of homolog ranged f
rom - 0.410 to - 1.025 and that of 2,3,7,8-substituted isomers ranged from
-0.379 to -0.772 in plots of the log partition coefficient (K-p) versus the
log subcooled vapor pressure (P-L(o)).
The octanol/air partition coefficient (K-oa)-based model of PCDD/Fs is more
compatible with experimental data than those of the Junge-Pankow model tha
t tends to overestimate results, even though both models include some level
of uncertainty. However, both models can underestimate the particle phase
of PCDD/Fs, especially when the ambient air temperature is extremely low in
winter. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.