Characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission from open burning of joss paper

The concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the ambient air from a massive open burning of joss paper was simultaneously measured at an open-burning site (OS) and a downwind site (DS) from 6 to 8 August 2006. A total of 16 major PAHs (particle-bound and gas-phase) concentrations were extracted by the Soxhlet analytical method and analyzed by gas chromatography. The dominant PAHs of the total mass of the organic compound at both the sampling sites were low-molecular-weight species. Further, the results showed that the start burning/end burning-dominant PAH concentration ratios at the OS and DS were 10 and 6.2, respectively. Diagnostic ratios were also used in this study to characterize and identify the PAH emission sources. The results suggest that the characterization of air pollutants emitted from open-burning joss paper lies between furnace-burning joss paper and wood combustion.