There are few analyses on the components of particulate matter emitted from waste incineration plants. In past studies, analyses of particle size distribution characteristics of the components were mainly targeted at particles with larger particle sizes. An electrical low pressure impactor (ELPI) was used in this study to collect the particulate matter emitted from a waste incineration plant, and the elements and carbonaceous components of these samples were analyzed. The particle size characteristics of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and heavy metal elements in 14 particle size segments were analyzed and composition profiles of elements and carbonaceous components of PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 from the waste incineration plant were established to provide a reference for refined source apportionment research. The results showed that the main components of the waste incineration plant included Al, Si, S, Ca, Cr, Fe, OC, EC, etc. OC and Ca were dominating components, and mass fractions of these components in the PM2.5 profile were 10.15% and 12.37%, respectively. The contents of heavy metals were ranked as Cr > Pb > Zn > Mn > Cu > Cd > Ni, and the mass fractions of Cr and Pb in PM2.5 amounted to 1.83% and 0.74%, respectively. OC in the range of 2.39-3.99 and 6.68-9.91 μm accounted for 15.02% and 20.45% of the total OC content, respectively, and the content of OC in fine particles was higher than that in coarse particles. The content of EC in fine particles was much higher than that in coarse particles, and it accounted for 14.8% in the 0.382-0.613 μm particle size. Heavy metal elements such as Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb were mainly concentrated in the fine particles.
Keywords: carbonaceous components; heavy metal elements; particle size distribution; particulate matter; waste incineration.