Black Carbon in Atmosphere: Instrumentation, Chemical–Physical Behavior, Human Health Implications

Dear Colleagues,

Carbonaceous particles (or total carbon, TC), the largest contributor to atmospheric PM, are composed of two main fractions, elemental carbon (EC) and organic Carbon (OC). EC (or black carbon or soot) has a graphitic-like structure and is essentially a primary pollutant emitted in particulate form, and its chemical stability excludes chemical transformations during its lifetime in atmosphere. OC represents a large variety of organic compounds, e.g., aliphatic, aromatic compounds, alcohols, and acids, and has both primary and secondary origin: primary OC particulate is formed during combustion and emitted mainly as submicron particles.

The use of such methodology is important for different reasons: It is fundamental for the evaluation of atmospheric pollution from combustion processes; it can be used as a specific index of car traffic pollution; it is very significant for the protection of human health due to the high permanence of the carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere and the numerous chemical–physical transformation processes that they can undergo in the atmosphere; the separation between EC and OC is of fundamental importance for the study of the pneumoconiogenic effects and, more generally, for the toxic effects and for the study of the mechanisms of formation of photochemical pollutants.

This Special Issue aims to examine the state of the art in this important topic, focusing on theory and on the development of new instrumentation useful for this determination, chemical–physical problems in the atmosphere, health and toxicological implications related to exposure to these pollutants, as well as historical data series in urban, rural, and remote areas are.

Prof. Dr. Pasquale Avino
Guest Editor

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