Articles | Volume 24, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10279-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10279-2024
Research article
 | 
18 Sep 2024
Research article |  | 18 Sep 2024

Biomass-burning sources control ambient particulate matter, but traffic and industrial sources control volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and secondary-pollutant formation during extreme pollution events in Delhi

Arpit Awasthi, Baerbel Sinha, Haseeb Hakkim, Sachin Mishra, Varkrishna Mummidivarapu, Gurmanjot Singh, Sachin D. Ghude, Vijay Kumar Soni, Narendra Nigam, Vinayak Sinha, and Madhavan N. Rajeevan

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Cited articles

Acharja, P., Ali, K., Ghude, S. D., Sinha, V., Sinha, B., Kulkarni, R., Gultepe, I., Rajeevan, M. N.: Enhanced secondary aerosol formation driven by excess ammonia during fog episodes in Delhi, India, Chemosphere 289, 133155, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133155, 2022. 
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Atabakhsh, S., Poulain, L., Chen, G., Canonaco, F., Prévôt, A. S. H., Pöhlker, M., Wiedensohler, A., and Herrmann, H.: A 1-year aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) source analysis of organic aerosol particle contributions from anthropogenic sources after long-range transport at the TROPOS research station Melpitz, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6963–6988, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6963-2023, 2023. 
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We use 111 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PM10, and PM2.5 in a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model to resolve 11 pollution sources validated with chemical fingerprints. Crop residue burning and heating account for ~ 50 % of the PM, while traffic and industrial emissions dominate the gas-phase VOC burden and formation potential of secondary organic aerosols (> 60 %). Non-tailpipe emissions from compressed-natural-gas-fuelled commercial vehicles dominate the transport sector's PM burden.
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