Characteristics of Atmospheric Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) in Summer in Shenzhen, China

Abstract:

The concentration and distribution features of MTBE in the atmosphere in Shenzhen were studied by analyzing samples which were collected in three consecutive days. In this study, pre-concentrator technology and gas chromatography were used. The result showed that the MTBE could was detected in atmosphere of the Shenzhen, and the range of its concentration was from 0.086 - 1.453μgm^-3, including the daily average concentration of 0.662±0.334μgm^-3 in industrial area, 0.331±0.216μgm^-3 in commercial residential area, 0.258±0.154μgm^-3 in tourist area, and 0.158±0.045μgm^-3 in background area. The MTBE concentration in industrial area was 2 times of the commercial residential area, 2.6 times of tourist area and 7 times of the background area. These differences were statistically significant (p<0.008) by the Kruskal-Wallis Test. The MTBE concentration was the highest during one day in the period of 17:00-19:00 of industrial area, which was 0.716±0.306μgm^-3. However, the MTBE concentration in the commercial residential area and tourist area were highest in the period of 11:00-13:00, the MTBE concentration were 0.394±0.224μgm^-3 and 0.446±0.069μgm^-3 respectively. In the workday, the industrial area and commercial residential area were higher compared to the weekend, and the tourist area showed opposite trends, but no matter the comparison of hour average concentration or the workday and weekend, the difference were not statistically significant. It was concluded that the MTBE concentration in atmosphere environment in Shenzhen has the typical spatial specificity because of the different source of MTBE, but has no the time specificity.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volumes 522-524)
• Pages: 84-87
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.522-524.84
• Online since: February 2014
• Authors: Tian Tong Tang, Qin Zhi Wei, Xiao Wu Peng*, Jiong Li Huang, Jing Zheng, Yu Yu Wang, Lin Han Liang, Si Yang Ye
• Keywords: Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry, Daily Average Concentration, Hour Average Concentration, Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether, Sample Pre-Concentrator Technology

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