Gas/particle partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in coastal atmosphere of the north Yellow Sea, China

Samples of gas- and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were collected at three sampling stations (Xiaomai Island, Laohutan, and Zhangzi Island) in the north Yellow Sea, China during November 2008 and September 2009 to study their atmospheric transport potential and the gas/particle distributions. The composition of PAHs was dominated by gaseous compounds. The percentages of the particle-phase PAHs to the total concentrations were found to be higher during the heating period than the non-heating period. The ratios of naphthalene and acenaphthene to phenanthrene, chrysene and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene showed an increasing trend from Xiaomai Island to Zhangzi Island, which can be called as the local atmospheric distillation of PAHs. Gas/particle partitioning coefficients (K p) and their relationship with the sub-cooled liquid vapor pressures (poL) of PAHs were investigated. The regressions of logK p versus logpoL gave significant correlations for all samples of the three sites with r 2 values in the range 0.56–0.66 (p < 0.01). Both Junge–Pankow adsorption model and octanol–air partition coefficient absorption model tended to underestimate the sorption for most PAHs, but the absorption model appeared to be more suitable for predicting the particle fraction of PAHs than the Junge–Pankow model.