Carbonaceous particulate matter characterization in an urban and a rural site in the Philippines

Concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM2.5 were measured at an urban (Valenzuela City, Metro Manila) and a rural (Angat, Bulacan) site in the Philippines from September 2011 to August 2012 by thermal–optical reflectance analysis following IMPROVE–A protocol. Results show that OC (8.00 μg m−3) and EC (6.63 μg m−3) levels in Valenzuela were 2–3 times higher than those in Angat (OC: 4.08 μg m−3, EC: 2.29 μg m−3). The total carbon contributions (OC+EC) to PM2.5 mass for the urban and rural site were 38.9% and 19.7% respectively. Compared to neighboring countries in Asia, the Philippine sites have intermediate OC concentrations and greatly elevated EC levels. These suggest the presence of highly inefficient combustion sources and highlight the need for the regulation of such emissions. Valenzuela was dominated by OC2, OC3, and EC1 (carbon fractions evolving at 280 °C and 480 °C in pure He phase and 580 °C in He/O2 phase of the analysis, respectively) which points to vehicular, industrial, and cooking sectors as the possible main sources. While generally having lower concentrations and being less EC–dominated, Angat had remarkably higher levels of the EC2 fraction which suggests a unique EC source in the area. Conditional Probability Function (CPF) for Valenzuela OC and EC show similar results pointing towards the 30°, 150°, and 210° direction, indicating common sources for these species. Detailed survey of the surrounding area is needed to ascertain the identities of the sources present in these directions.