Spectroscopic Characterization of Dust-Fall Samples Collected from Greater Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

This work aimed to characterize dust-fall samples collected from street's trees in Greater Cairo (GC), Egypt, and its surroundings by different spectroscopic techniques, namely; X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total-reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), particle-size analyzer, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive X-ray measurements. Samples were collected from 19 different locations inside and outside of GC. Quantitative phase analysis of the dust-fall samples was performed using the Rietveld method. Results showed that the most frequently observed phases in the dust-fall samples were calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), and quartz (SiO2) with average concentrations of 39 ± 16, 8 ± 7, 22 ± 13, and 33 ± 14 wt%, respectively. The occurrence of these constituents referred to a combination of different anthropogenic and natural sources. The ATR-FTIR results are in good agreements with XRD data of the different observed phases. Based on the SEM and particle-size measurements, quantitative determination of the particle-size distribution was described. It was found that not only the large-sized particles are deposited but also the small-sized ones (PM10 and PM2.5). In addition, the particle size of the collected dust-fall samples varied from 0.1 to 200 μm with an average particle size of 17.36 μm; however, the particle size ranged from 2.5 to 40 μm predominated in all of the dust-fall samples.