Journal of Environmental Research

Identification and characterization of Particulate Matter (PM) at an historical site and southern industrial area in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Joint Event on 5^th International Conference on Pollution Control and Sustainable Environment & 10^th Edition of International Conference on Water: Pollution, Treatment & Research
March 14-16, 2019 London, UK

Fahed Ayed N Aloufi, Adel El Turke and Tom Scott

University of Bristol, UK

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Environ Res

Abstract

The atmospheric pollution is one of the biggest challenges in Saudi Arabia. Particulate matter (PM) is one of the most problematic pollutants observed; this is due to the congested traffic and industrial activities. It can cause adverse health effects and material degradation. Moreover, the characterization of particulate matter is also influenced by meteorological conditions, including temperature, humidity, rainfall and wind speed. This work represents the characterization of these particle pollutants. The samples were collected from the historical site and southern industrial area in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The chemical composition of the PM were analysed using the techniques of scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and dual beam - focused ion beam microscopy (DB-FIB). The results gathered from the historical site were identified where in large amounts of spherical particles consisted of carbon, Fe, Cu and Zn. In addition, Al, Si, Ca, Na and Cl were also identified. The results from the industrial southern area revealed large amounts of Zn and Fe and small amount of Mn and Cu. In addition, S K, Ca and Ti were also identified.

Biography

Fahed Ayed N Aloufi is a Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment and Arid Land Agriculture in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He obtained his BSc in 2007, Environmental Science. In 2011, he received an MSc on the research entitled ‘Sustainable Energy and Environment’, Engineering School, University of Cardiff. His research study is focused on atmospheric pollution and environmental management. He is currently a PhD researcher at Interface Analysis Centre (IAC), University of Bristol. His current research involved the study of the effect of climate change and atmospheric pollution on historical buildings in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. During his research, he gained experience on the art of analytical techniques including X-ray tomography (XRT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB) and laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS).