Author(s)

P. Avino, D. Brocco & A. Cecinato

Abstract

Total carbon, elemental carbon and organic carbon in the particulate matter were measured in the urban area of Rome by means of a thermal method. The results have shown that carbonaceous material constitutes a significant fraction of the total aerosol mass (30-40%). An investigation of organic carbon composition has been carried out in order to determine the alkanes, the alkanoic acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by means of an HRGC- MS procedure. A different distribution of homologues in the two classes of n- alkanes and n-alkanoic acids has shown the presence of their natural source which adds up to prevalent anthropogenic carbon particulate. 1 Introduction

Keywords