Biomass burning tracers in urban and rural particles in Silesia - Poland

The major tracers are thermal degradation products from the biopolymer cellulose, namely the didehydromonosaccharide derivatives levoglucosan (LG), galactosan (GL) and mannosan (MN) and the resin acid derivative dehydroabietic acid, with minor β-sitosterol. The relative proportions of levoglucosan to mannosan (LG/MN) have been used for source reconstruction of combustion derived byproducts in atmospheric aerosols. Major tracers eg. levoglucosan, galactosan and mannosan were measured at two sites in Silesia region and health resort (Krynica) during winter season 2016/2017. Levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan were quantified using a validated gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method described in detail by Klejnowski K., Janoszka K., Czaplicka M. Atmosphere, MDPI, 2017, Vol. 8 (190). The obtained results showed that mean concentrations of the total tracers determined in air in winter season were 522 ng/m3 for Zabrze sampling point, 434 ng/m3 in the case Rokitno and 156 ng/m3 for Krynica. Levoglucosan was most abundant tracer of biomass burning, it was 84 % of determined tracers in Zabrze, 83 % in Rokitno and 87 % in case of Krynica.