Black carbon and elemental concentration of ambient particulate matter in Makassar Indonesia

Airborne particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter of less or equal to 10 um or PM₁₀, has been collected on a weekly basis for one year from February 2012 to January 2013 at one site of Makassar, Province of South Sulawesi Indonesia. The samples were collected using a size selective high volume air sampler sited at Daya, a mixed urban, commercial and industrial area in the city of Makassar. The concentration of black carbon (BC) along with a total of 14 elements (i.e Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Fe, K, Mg, Ba, Na, Ni, Pb, Si, Ti and Zn) were determined from the sample. Results showed that the average particulate mass concentration was 32.9 ± 11.6 μg/m³ with BC and elemental concentration constituted 6.1% and 10.6% of the particulate concentration, respectively. Both BC and elemental constituents contributed 16.7% while 83.3% of the particulate matter remained to be counted for. The black carbon concentration was higher during the dry months which may be attributed to rampant biomass burning during hot and dry weather conditions, apart from other possible sources. Most of the elements were enriched relative to soil origin illustrating of their possible associations with other sources such as marine and anthropogenic derived aerosols, particularly Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn, which are known to originate from man-made activities.