Sources identification of the atmospheric aerosol at urban and suburban sites in Indonesia by positive matrix factorization

Samples of fine and coarse fractions of airborne particulate matter were collected in Indonesia (west central Java) at an urban site in Bandung and in suburban Lembang from January 2002 to December 2004. The samples were collected using a Gent stacked filter sampler in two size fractions of < 2.5 μm (fine) and 2.5 to 10 μm (coarse). The samples were analyzed for elemental concentrations by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). Black carbon was determined using an EEL Smoke Stain Reflectometer. The data sets were then analyzed using positive matrix factorization to identify the possible sources of fine and coarse atmospheric aerosols in both areas. The best solutions were found to be seven factors and five factors for elemental compositions of fine and coarse particulate matter in the urban area of Bandung and six factors and five factors for elemental compositions of fine and coarse particulate matter in the suburban area of Lembang, respectively. The sources are soil dust, motor vehicles, biomass burning, sea salt, and road dust. The PMF results showed that more than 50% of the PM2.5-10 mass at both sites comes from soil dust and road dust. The biomass burning factor contributes about 40% of the PM2.5 mass in case of suburban Lembang and about 20% in urban Bandung.