On-road black carbon instrument intercomparison and aerosol characteristics by driving environment

Large spatial variations of black carbon (BC) concentrations in the on-road and near-road environments necessitate measurements with high spatial resolution to assess exposure accurately. A series of measurements was made comparing the performance of several different BC instruments (Single Particle Soot Photometer, Photo-Acoustic Soot Spectrometer, and Aethalometer) for high time resolution mobile measurements, capable of mapping spatial gradients. All instruments were highly correlated at high time resolution (r2 = 0.80–0.89 at a 2-s resolution), however the slope ranged from 0.52 to 1.03, with the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) consistently reporting the lowest BC concentrations. BC and ultrafine particle (UFP) concentrations were two-fold higher on the highway compared to surrounding roads with lower traffic counts. The BC size distribution had a mass median diameter of approximately 120 nm, which was smaller and less coated than aged urban BC. Mean UFP and BC concentrations were 2 and 1.4 times greater, respectively, during free flowing traffic on the highway compared with times when there was stop-and-go congestion, providing evidence that transit time is not a good predictor of BC or UFP exposure.