Title: Functional and non functional particulate hydrocarbons in urban, rural and forest atmospheres of Northern Algeria

Authors: Yacine Moussaoui; Catia Baldduci; Angelo Cecinato; Brahim Youcef Meklati

Addresses: Faculté des Sciences de la Matière, et des Mathématiques, Université Kasdi Merbah Ouargla, Ouargla, 30 000, Algérie ' National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA), Via Salaria Km 29.3, P.O. Box 10, Monterotondo Scalo RM, 00015, Italy ' National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA), Via Salaria Km 29.3, P.O. Box 10, Monterotondo Scalo RM, 00015, Italy ' Laboratoire d'Analyse Organique Fonctionnelle, Faculté de Chimie, Université des Sciences et de la Technologie, U.S.T.H.B., BP32 El-Alia, Bab-Ezzouar, 16111, Alger, Algérie

Abstract: Airborne particulates were collected daily during three year seasons by using medium-volume aspirating systems equipped with PM10 inertial impactors. The organic fraction was solvent extracted with soxhlet, fractioned and cleaned-up through column chromatography, then processed by gas chromatography combined with flame ionisation and mass spectrometry detectors. Chemical analyses allowed characterising a set of groups of compounds, namely n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, dicarboxylic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and highly-polar chemicals. Besides that, the potential sources of pollution were investigated by analysing the n-alkane carbon preference index and selected diagnostic ratios among PAH and NPAH concentrations. Total concentrations of n-alkanes varied widely over the study period (from 48 to 170 ng m⁻³); PAHs behaved similarly (2 ÷ 24 ng m⁻³). Caffeine and nicotine accounted together for ∼12% of all identified PM components in the Rouiba urban area during summers and this percentage raised up to ~65% in autumn 2007.

Keywords: particulate organic matter; particulate matter; n-alkanes; n-alkanoic acids; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; nitrated PAHs; molecular markers; air pollution; Algeria; urban atmospheres; rural areas; forests; cities; PM10; caffeine; nicotine.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGW.2016.079782

International Journal of Global Warming, 2016 Vol.10 No.4, pp.454 - 481

Received: 20 Sep 2014
Accepted: 29 Mar 2015
Published online: 14 Oct 2016 *

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