Concentration and source allocation of black carbon by AE-33 model in urban area of Shenzhen, southern China

Purpose In the urban region of Shenzhen, the changes in the concentration of Black carbon (BC) have been evaluated throughout the dry season, and apportioned the BC sources, including in the form of fossil fuel (e.g., vehicle emissions) and biomass fuel (e.g., industrial emissions). Methods The new seven-channel aethalometer model (AE-33), PM 2.5 , and meteorological data were collected in the dry season (October–May) from 2019 to 2020, to quantify BC emissions in urban Shenzhen. Explored the source allocation of BC based on Potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) model. Results We revealed that the mean BC concentration was 2672 ± 1506 ng/m 3 in the dry season, with values of 4062 ± 1182 ng/m 3 , 2519 ± 1568 ng/m 3 , and 1900 ± 776 ng/m 3 in autumn, winter, and spring, respectively. Additionally, we found that fossil fuels have higher contributions to BC concentrations (86.3% to 86.8% in autumn and spring) in the dry season than biomass fuels (16% to 20% in autumn, spring and winter), which is different from Beijing, Nanjing and other large economic zones in China. The diurnal variation in BC and the contribution of fossil fuels indicate that there is a significantly greater increase in BC during peak traffic hours in urban Shenzhen than in other cities. Finally, meteorological parameters and PM 2.5 data provided supporting evidence that BC is sourced mainly from local vehicle emissions and industry-related combustion in the western and northeastern/southeastern parts of the study area. Conclusion This study showed that the concentration of BC is lower than other regions, and the source allocation is mainly local fossil fuels (vehicle emission, etc.).