Chemical Characterization and Source Apportionment of PM2.5 in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

Shedrack R.  Nayebare; Omar S. Aburizaiza; Haider A.  Khwaja; Azhar  Siddique; Mirza M.  Hussain; Jahan  Zeb; Fida  Khatib; David O.  Carpenter; Donald R.  Blake

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2015.11.0658

Chemical Characterization and Source Apportionment of PM2.5 in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia

Shedrack R. Nayebare¹^,2, Omar S. Aburizaiza ³, Haider A. Khwaja ¹^,2, Azhar Siddique⁴, Mirza M. Hussain¹^,2, Jahan Zeb², Fida Khatib³, David O. Carpenter⁵, Donald R. Blake⁶

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¹Department of Environ. Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12201, USA
²Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY 12201, USA
³Unit for Ain Zubaida Rehabilitation & Ground Water Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
⁴Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar
⁵Institute for the Health and the Environment, University at Albany, 5 University Place, Rensselaer, NY 12144, USA
⁶Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92617, USA

Received: November 30, 2015
Revised: April 14, 2016
Accepted: April 14, 2016
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2015.11.0658

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Cite this article:
Nayebare, S.R., Aburizaiza, O.S., Khwaja, H.A., Siddique, A., Hussain, M.M., Zeb, J., Khatib, F., Carpenter, D.O. and Blake, D.R. (2016). Chemical Characterization and Source Apportionment of PM2.5 in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 16: 3114-3129. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2015.11.0658

HIGHLIGHTS

First study to assess fine particulate air pollution in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

A detailed source apportionment and chemical characterization of PM2.5 presented.

PM2.5 sources include fossil fuels, sea sprays, industrial and vehicular emissions.

ABSTRACT

The present study describes the measurement, chemical characterization and delineation of sources of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia. The 24-h PM_2.5 was collected from May 6^th–June 17^th, 2013. The sources of various air pollutants and their characterization was carried by computations of Enrichment Factor (EF), Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and Backward-in-time Trajectories. The 24-h PM_2.5 showed significant temporal variability with average (37 ± 16.2 μg m^–3) exceeding the WHO guideline (20 μg m^–3) by 2 fold. SO4^2–, NO^3–, NH⁴⁺ and Cl^– ions dominated the ionic components. Two broad categories of aerosol Trace Elements (TEs) sources were defined as anthropogenic (Ni, V, Zn, Pb, S, Lu and Br) and soil/crustal derived (Si, Rb, Ti, Fe, Mn, Mg, K, Sr, Cr, Ca, Cu, Na and Al) elements from computations of EF. Anthropogenic elements originated primarily from fossil-fuel combustion, automobile and industrial emissions. A factor analysis model (PMF) indicated the major sources of PM2.5 as Soil (Si, Al, Ti, Fe, Mg, K and Ca); Industrial Dust (Ca, Fe, Al, and Si); Fossil-Fuel combustion (V, Ni, Pb, Lu, Cu, Zn, NH⁴⁺, SO4^2– and BC); Vehicular Emissions (NO₃^–, C2O₄^2–, V and BC) and Sea Sprays (Cl^– and Na). Backward-in-time trajectories showed a significant contribution by long distance transport of fine aerosols to the overall daily PM2.5 levels. Results are consistent with previous studies and highlight the need for more comprehensive research into particulate air pollution in Rabigh and the neighboring areas. This is essential for the formulation of sustainable guidelines on air pollutant emissions in Saudi Arabia and the whole Middle East.