Studies of aerosol particle formation from various sources using ion and electron beam analytical techniques

Sammanfattning: The thesis presents the results of studies of aerosol particle formation using ion and electron beam analytical techniques. The sources of aerosol particle formation studied are the following: 1. production of primary aerosol particles in the high Arctic region during summers 2. emission of ultrafine aerosol particles from wear on the road-tire interface 3. emission of aerosol particles from district heating units operating on three commonly-used biofuels. A source of primary and nearly hydrophobic aerosol particles within the Arctic pack ice region during summers with a composition similar to that of average crustal rock was identified. Wear on the road-tire interface was found to generate numerous ultrafine aerosol particles of varying morphology. The particle number emission factors per vehicle and kilometer driven are similar in magnitude to the tail-pipe exhaust emissions obtained by use of modern engine technology. Particle emissions from the combustion of biomass were characterized in terms of their elemental composition and particle formation mechanisms. List of papers in this dissertation Paper I: Aerosol particle elemental size distributions during the Arctic Ocean expedition in the summer of 2001. Paper II: Summer high Arctic aerosol particles classified using Transmission Electron Microscopy. Paper III: Traffic-generated emissions of ultra fine particles from the road surface-tire interface. Paper IV: Particle emissions from district heating units operation on three commonly used biofuels. Paper V: Laboratory and field test of a method for high-temperature characterization of fly ash and fly ash precursors.