Investigation of concentrations and sources of trace elements in Aksaray ambient air

In this study, daily size distributed PM2,5 and PM2,5-10 samples were collected between July and December in 2019 at a station established in Aksaray University campus. Fine and coarse fraction PM samples were analyzed for trace element composition (Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sb, Ba, Pb) using EDXRF. Measured concentrations of elements in the coarse fraction varied between 10651,385 ng m-3 and 0.0008 ng m-3 for Ca and Rb, respectively. In the fine fraction, concentrations of elements varied between 9235,568 ng m-3 and 0.002 ng m-3 for Ca and Rb, respectively. 5 factors were identified at Aksaray atmosphere by PMF analysis. These factors are vehicle abrasion emissions, wood combustion emissions, contaminated soil particles, mixed combustion emissions, and road dust particles. Road dust particles are the largest contributor to the total PM2,5 mass with a 46% contribution. It followed by wood combustion emissions (23%), mixed combustion emissions (16%), vehicle abrasion emission (13%) and contaminated soil particles (2%).