• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.7-21
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• 2013

Twelve-hour size-resolved atmospheric aerosols were measured to determine size distributions of water-soluble organic carbon(WSOC) during daytime and nighttime, and to investigate sources and formation pathways of WSOC in individual particle size classes. Mass, WSOC, ${NO_3}^-$, $K^+$, and $Cl^-$ at day and night showed mostly bimodal size distributions, peaking at the size range of $0.32-0.55{\mu}m$(condensation mode) and $3.1-6.2{\mu}m$(coarse mode), respectively, with a predominant condensation mode and a minor coarse mode. While ${NH_4}^+$ and ${SO_4}^{2-}$ showed unimodal size distributions which peaked between 0.32 and $0.55{\mu}m$. WSOC was enriched into nuclei mode particles(< $0.1{\mu}m$) based on the WSOC-to-mass and WSOC-to-water soluble species ratios. The sources and formation mechanisms of WSOC were inferred in reference to the size distribution characteristics of inorganic species(${SO_4}^{2-}$, ${NO_3}^-$, $K^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Na^+$, and $Cl^-$) and carbon monoxide. Nuclei mode WSOC was likely associated with primary combustion sources during daytime and nighttime. Among significant sources contributing to the condensation mode WSOC were homogeneous gas-phase oxidation of VOCs, primary combustion emissions, and fresh(or slightly aged) biomass burning aerosols. The droplet mode WSOC could be attributed to aqueous oxidation of VOCs in clouds, cloud-processed biomass burning aerosols, and small contributions from primary combustion sources. From the correlations between WSOC and soil-related particles, and between WSOC and sea-salt particles, it is suggested that the coarse mode WSOC during daytime is likely to condense on the soil-related particles($K^+$ and $Ca^{2+}$), while the WSOC in the coarse fraction during nighttime is likely associated with the sea-salt particles($Na^+$).

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.337-346
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• 2011

24-hr integrated measurements of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in PM2.5 were made between May 5 and September 25, 2010, on a six-day interval basis, at the Metropolitan Area Air Pollution Monitoring Supersite. A macro-porous XAD7HP resin was used to separate hydrophilic and hydrophobic WSOC. Compounds that penetrate the XAD7HP column are referred to hydrophilic WSOC, while those retained by the column are defined as hydrophobic WSOC. Laboratory calibrations using organic standards suggest that hydrophilic WSOC includes lowmolecular aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and carbonyls with less than 4 or 5 carbons, amines, and saccharides. While the hydrophobic WSOC is composed of compounds of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with carbon numbers larger than 4~5, phenols, aromatic acids, cyclic acid, and humic-like Suwannee River fulvic acid. Over the entire study period, total WSOC accounted for on average 48% of OC, ranging from 32 to 65%, and hydrophilic WSOC accounted for on average 30.5% (9.3~66.7%) of the total WSOC. Based on the previous results, our measurement result suggests that significant amounts of hydrophobic WSOC during the study period were probably from primary combustion sources. However, on June 9 when 1-hr highest ozone concentration of 130 ppb was observed, WSOC to OC was 0.61, driven by increases in the hydrophilic WSOC. This result also suggests that processes, such as secondary organic aerosol formation, produce significant levels of hydrophilic WSOC compounds that add substantially to the fine particle fraction of the organic aerosol.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.675-688
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• 2007

To characterize organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) contents, daily $PM_{2.5}$ measurements were performed in August 2006 (summer) and Jan $11{\sim}Feb$ 12 2007 (winter) at an urban site of Gwangju. Daily size-segregated aerosol samples were also collected for WSOC analysis. No clear seasonal variations in EC and WSOC concentrations were observed, while seasonal differences in OC concentration, and OC/EC and WSOC/EC ratios were shown. The WSOC/OC ratio showed higher value in summer (0.56) than in winter (0.40), reflecting the greater enhancement of secondary WSOC formation at the site in summer. Secondary WSOC concentrations estimated using EC tracer method were in the range $0.0{\sim}2.1\;{\mu}g/m^3$ (average $0.42\;{\mu}g/m^3$) and $0.0{\sim}1.1\;{\mu}g/m^3\;(0.24\;{\mu}g/m^3)$, respectively, accounting for $0{\sim}51.6%$ (average 16.8%) and $0{\sim}52.5%$ (average 13.1 %) of the measured WSOC concentrations in summer and winter. Sometimes higher WSOC/OC ratio in winter than that in summer could be attributed to two reasons. One is that the stable atmospheric condition often appears in winter, and the prolonged residence time would strengthen atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds. The other is that decrease of ambient temperature in winter would enhance the condensation of volatile secondary WSOC on pre-existing aerosols. In summertime, atmospheric aerosols and WSOC concentrations showed bimodal size distributions, peaking at the size ranges $0.32{\sim}0.56\;{\mu}m$ (condensation mode) and $3.2{\sim}5.6\;{\mu}m$ (coarse mode), respectively. During the wintertime, atmospheric aerosols showed a bimodal character, while WSOC concentrations showed a unimodal pattern. Size distributions of atmospheric aerosols and WSOC with a peak in the size range $0.32{\sim}0.56\;{\mu}m$ were observed for most of the measurement periods. On January 17, however, atmospheric aerosols and WOSC exhibited size distributions with modal peaks in the size range $1.0{\sim}1.8\;{\mu}m$, suggesting that the aerosol particles collected on that day could be expected to be more aged, i.e, longer residence time, than the aerosols at other sampling periods.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2012

The chemical characterization of water-soluble organic carbon in ash emitted from a coal combustion boiler has not been reported yet. A total of 5 ash samples were collected from the outlet of an electrostatic precipitator in a commercial 500 MW coal-fired power plant, with their chemical characteristics investigated. XAD7HP resin was used to quantify the hydrophilic and hydrophobic water-soluble organic carbons (WSOC), which are the fractions of WSOC that penetrate and remain on the resin column, respectively. Calibration results indicate that the hydrophilic fraction includes aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and carbonyls (<4 carbons), amines and saccharides, while the hydrophobic fraction includes aliphatic dicarboxylic acids (>4-5 carbons), phenols, aromatic acids, cyclic acid and humic acid. The average mass of the WSOC in the ash samples was found to depend on the bituminous coal type being burned, and ranged from 163 to 259 ${\mu}g$ C/g of ash, which corresponds to 59-96 mg C of WSOC/kg of coal combusted. The WSOC mass accounted for 0.02-0.03 wt% of the used ash sample mass. Based on the flow rate of flue gas produced from the combustion of the blended coals in the 500 MW coal combustion boiler, it was estimated that the WSOC particles were emitted to the atmosphere at flow rates of 4.6-7.2 g C/hr. The results also indicated that the hydrophilic WSOC fraction in the coal burned accounted for 64-82% of the total WSOC, which was 2-4 times greater than the mass of the hydrophobic WSOC fraction.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.259-268
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• 2018

The $PM_{2.5}$ samples were collected for every 6th day during one year at a suburban site in the Namwonsi, Jeollanamdo, Republic of Korea. Samples were analyzed for elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and levoglucosan. Although the water-soluble fraction of fine particulate OC consistently showed over a year, levoglucosan fraction of WSOC varied considerably from month to month. In this study, non-biomass-burning WSOC ($WSOC_{NBB}$) and biomass-burning $WSOC_{BB}$ were calculated with measurements of organic source tracer, levoglucosan, to better understand the temporal distribution and sources of WSOC. Two methods of predicting the secondary organic carbon from the biomass-burning $WSOC_{BB}$ Method and the EC-tracer Method were compared. Poor correlations between SOC estimated between two methods suggested that the use of the EC tracer method to estimate SOC may be significantly flawed. Direct measurements of levoglucosan and WSOC can provide a reasonable estimate of secondary organic carbon concentrations.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.633-641
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• 2016

Two identical Particle Into Liquid Samplers-Total Organic Carbon (PILS-TOC) were operated to measure fine particle Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) for one week on Feb. in 2016. The dual instrument operations provided validated WSOC concentrations to have a continuous WSOC measurement during the sample analysis period. Both PILS-TOC instruments were operated downstream of an carbon denuder to remove positive adsorption artifacts associated with semi-volatile organic compounds. Comparison of WSOC showed good agreement each other. The linear regression had a coefficient of determination ($r^2$) of 0.92 and a regression slope of 1.01 for the first period. The lower collection efficiency due to lower steam temperature is discussed. In addition, the potential primary source related to WSOC based on the comparison of black carbon (BC) concentrations is explained. The results of good agreement between two PILS-TOC measurements can provide the validation of WSOC cooperations and knowledge regarding the origins of WSOC and their behaviors.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.64-74
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• 2017

In this study, we have analyzed relationship between the measured Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) concentrations and the estimated aerosol water content of $PM_{10}$ (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to $10{\mu}m$) for the period between September 2006 and August 2007 at Seoul, Korea. Water content of $PM_{10}$ was estimated by using a gas/particle equilibrium model, Simulating composition of Atmospheric Particles at Equilibrium 2 (SCAPE2). The WSOC concentrations showed low correlation with Elemental Carbon (EC), but Water Insoluble Organic Carbon (WISOC) were highly correlated with EC. It seemed that hydrophilic groups were produced by secondary formation rather than primary formation. As with the previous studies, WSOC showed good correlation with secondary ions ($NO_3{^-}$, $SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NH_4{^+}$), especially WSOC was highly correlated with $NO_3{^-}$ that is a secondary ion formed by photochemical oxidation from more local sources than $SO_4{^{2-}}$. No apparent correlation between the measured WSOC and estimated water content was observed. However, WSOC showed good correlation with estimated water content when it was assumed that relative humidity was higher than the deliquescence relative humidity of the system. In conclusion, WSOC is correlated with water content by hygroscopic ions and it is expected that nitrate play an important role among the water content and WSOC.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2010

Water soluble organic and inorganic species are important components in atmospheric aerosol particles and may act as cloud condensation nuclei to indirectly affect the climate. To characterize organic and elemental carbon(OC and EC), water-soluble organic carbon(WSOC) and inorganic ionic species contents, daily $PM_{2.5}$ measurements were made during the wintertime at an urban site of Gwangju. Average concentrations of WSOC, $NO_3^-$, $SO_4^{2-}$ and $NH_4^+$, which are major components in the water-soluble fraction in PM2.5, are 2.11, 5.73, 3.51 and $3.31{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively, representing 12.0(2.9~23.9%), 21.0(12.9~37.6%), 11.6(2.5~25.9%) and 11.7%(3.8~18.6%) of the $PM_{2.5}$, respectively. Abundance of water soluble organic compounds ranged from 5.4 to 35.9% of total water soluble organic and inorganic components with a mean of 17.6%. Even though the sampling was performed during the winter, the average contributions of secondary OC and WSOC, as deduced from primary OC/EC(or WSOC/EC) ratio, were relatively high, accounting for 17.9%(0~44.4%) of the total OC and 11.2%(0.0~51.4%) of the total WSOC, respectively. During the sampling period, low $SO_4^{2-}/(SO_4^{2-}+SO_2$) ratio of 0.14(0.03~0.32) and relative humidity condition in the winter time suggest an possibility of impact of long-range transport and/or aqueous transformation processes such as metal catalyzed oxidation of sulfur, in-cloud processes, etc.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.461-476
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• 2014

Continuous Water-Soluble Organic Carbons (WSOC) by the Particle Into Liquid Sampler - Total Organic Carbon (PILS-TOC) analyzer were measured at the Seoul intensive monitoring site from June 17 through July 5 in 2014. In addition, the 24 hour integrated PM2.5 collected by Teflon and Quartz filters were analyzed for water soluble ions by Ion chromatography (IC), WSOC by TOC from water extracts, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) by carbon analyzer using the thermal optical transmittance (TOT) method, and mass fragment ions (m/z) related to alkanes and PAHs (Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons) by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer-Thermal Desorption (GC/MS-TD). Based on the statistical analysis, four different Carbonaceous Thermal Distributions (CTDs) from OCEC thermal-gram were identified. This study discusses the primary and secondary sources of WSOC based on the Classified CTD, organic mass fragments, and diurnal patterns of WSOC. The results provide knowledge regarding the origins of WSOC and their behaviors.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.291-302
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• 2011

[ $PM_{10}$ ]measurements were made at two coastal sites, i.e., Taean and Gangneung, for summer to examine the characterization of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and inorganic ionic species, and to investigate their difference between the sites. The fractions of three major inorganic water-soluble components ($NO_3^-$, $SO_4^{2-}$, and $NH_4^+$) at Taean and Gangneung sites were 30.6% (16.2~62.0%) and 25.6% (13.0~52.5%) of the $PM_{10}$, respectively. $SO_4^{2-}$ is the most dominant species of water-soluble ions at both sites, accounting for up to 20.5% (9.1~44.9%) and 16.3% (5.5~34.2%) of their respective PM10 mass concentrations. Using the paired T-test, $PM_{10}$ (p<0.01), $NO_3^-$ (p<0.05), $SO_4^{2-}$ (p<0.01), $NH_4^+$ (p<0.001), and WSOC (p<0.05) concentrations exhibited strong fluctuations on a daily basis between Taean and Gangneung sites. Relationship between the concentrations of $SO_x$ ($SO_4^{2-}+SO_2$) and CO indicates that the slopes of $SO_x$ /CO were 0.007 and 0.019 in the Taean and Gangneung sites, respectively. The smaller $SO_x$/CO slope in the Taean site could be related to the aged air with wet scavenging of $SO_x$ during transport. The correlation between the concentrations of CO and WSOC suggests that WSOC observed in the Gangneung ($R^2$=0.82) be transported from combustion-related sources, while the WSOC at the Taean site could be formed through atmospheric processing of primary volatile organic species during transport.