Seasonal variation and source estimation of organic compounds in urban aerosol of Augsburg, Germany

This study reports a general assessment of the organic composition of the PM2.5 samples collected in the city of Augsburg, Germany in a summer (August–September 2007) and a winter (February–March 2008) campaign of 36 and 30 days, respectively. The samples were directly submitted to in-situ derivatisation thermal desorption gas chromatography coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry (IDTD–GC–TOFMS) to simultaneously determine the concentrations of many classes of molecular markers, such as n-alkanes, iso- and anteiso-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oxidized PAHs, n-alkanoic acids, alcohols, saccharides and others.The PCA analysis of the data identified the contributions of three emission sources, i.e., combustion sources, including fossil fuel emissions and biomass burning, vegetative detritus, and oxidized PAHs. The PM chemical composition shows seasonal trend: winter is characterized by high contribution of petroleum/wood combustion while the vegetative component and atmospheric photochemical reactions are predominant in the hot season.

► 59 molecular markers were simultaneously determined by thermal desorption GC–MS.
► Organic composition of urban PM2.5 in Augsburg, Germany, was characterized.
► Fossil fuel, vegetative detritus, coal/wood burning are the main sources.
► Seasonal trends winter vs. summer were identified.