Particulate material from a Brazilian agro-industrial region impacted by sugar cane: chemical characterization, identification of markers, environmental and health implications

Author(s)

Roberta Cerasi Urban

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Ribeirão Preto.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC)
• Defense date: 2014-03-21

Examining board members

Maria Lucia Arruda de Moura Campos; Jailson Bittencourt de Andrade; Bruno Spinosa de Martinis; Lilian Rothschild; Maria Cristina Solci

• Advisor: Maria Lucia Arruda de Moura Campos

Abstract

Although there is an increasing mechanization of the sugar cane harvesting practice in São Paulo State (SP), the emission of particulate matter (PM or aerosol) to the atmosphere due to leaf burning is still high. The aim of this work is to perform a chemical characterization of this atmospheric aerosol to evaluate its importance related to environmental and health issues. The concentrations of the biomass burning markers: levoglucosan (L), mannosan (M) and galactosan (G), determined in the aerosol samples collected in Ourinhos and Araraquara (SP), were higher and more variable in the night samples and during the harvest period, when most of the biomass burning activities occurs. The average concentrations (ng m-3) for samples collected during 24h (n=73) were: L=116±82, M=16.4±14.7 and G=10.7±9.3. Levoglucosan was found predominantly in fine particles (58-89%), while the other two anhydrosugars had a more homogeneous distribution. The linear correlation between L and K+ was weak, and the L/K+ ratio was smaller than the one found in the Amazon, indicating the presence of soil re-suspension particles. The L/M ratio (9±5; n=105) strengthen the evidence that sugar cane leave burning was the main source of the regional aerosol. This ratio can be useful to characterize the type of biomass that is being burnt and the process of combustion. In the chemical speciation study, it was identified that n-alkanes ranged from 0.24 to 118 g m-3. The diagnostic ratios applied to the n-alkanals, n-alkanones, n-alkanols and n-alkanoic acids homologous series were vital to prove that the biomass burning was the dominant source of aerosols to the atmosphere. The sum of the concentrations of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the samples ranged from 2 to 39 ng m-3, and retene was the most abundant (14-84%). Four out of six samples of aerosol samples from the harvest period analyzed, had the benzo(a)pyrene equivalent index (2.3; 1.9; 1.6 and 1.1 ng m-3) higher than the limit recommended by the World Health Organization (1.0 ng m-3), demonstrating that sugar cane burning can emit unsafe concentrations of compounds with carcinogenic and mutagenic potential. The emission of organic compounds to the atmosphere was up to 123 µg m-3 in the harvest period, compared to 0.82 µg m-3 in the non-harvest period. The largest concentrations of polar compounds were observed in samples from the harvest period, however, in percentage terms, the proportion of n-alkanes (non-polar) reached 96%. Nevertheless, in absolute terms, the mass of soluble organic carbon emitted was larger in the harvest period. The sum of the sugars concentrations quantified by gas chromatography in this work corresponded from 26 to 78% of the total sugar content, indicating that the hydrophilic fraction of the aerosol can be larger than that determined using the fractionation method. The hydrophilic character of the aerosol emitted during the sugar cane burning may affect the formation of cloud condensation nuclei and the regional rain pattern. (AU)