Determination of the organic fraction in the fine particles emitted from the vehicular fleet in São Paulo city

Abstract

There are many studies about the atmospheric aerosol discussing the interaction with radiation, processes of cloud formation, also its characterization of elemental composition, and physical structure, however the organic composition is not well known. There is much uncertainty regarding the sources of primary and secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere, which has direct interference on results obtained from global models and still in the inventories of emissions. The proposal of this work is to analyze the fraction of organic compounds (identification of sources, groups, and signatures) in the particulate matter in the atmosphere of São Paulo. The aerosol samples will be analyzed at the University of Utrecht, where there is a renowned research group devoted to the study of the aerosol. The work will take place under the guidance of Professor. Dr. Maria de Fatima Andrade and with the collaboration of Professor Röckmann, Dr. Thomas and Dr. Rupert Holzinger from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. New equipment for analysis of organic aerosol has been developed by that group for the study of the organic fraction of particulate matter. The method is very efficient in identifying organic compounds: more species are identified when the equipment is compared to others that offers the same goal, in addition sensitivity is higher. This project is important for further study regarding change of conventional fuels by bio-fuels (which changes the emissions profile), besides the collaboration between two universities, University of São Paulo and University of Utrecht. This project will allow the use of the equipment and will provide training in the use of the methodology by the PhD student.