Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in China

Abstract Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors in the formation of ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Hence, using an online monitor, we measured the concentrations of 56 VOC species in Handan, one of the most polluted cities in China, from Sep. 2017 till Aug. 2018....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yu Wang, Guang Yang, Litao Wang, Le Zhao, Shangping Ji, Mengyao Qi, XiaoHan Lu, Zhentong Liu, Jingyao Tan, Yingying Liu, Qing Wang, Ruiguang Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2020-04-01
Series:Aerosol and Air Quality Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2019.11.0608
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850190718312644608
author Yu Wang
Guang Yang
Litao Wang
Le Zhao
Shangping Ji
Mengyao Qi
XiaoHan Lu
Zhentong Liu
Jingyao Tan
Yingying Liu
Qing Wang
Ruiguang Xu
author_facet Yu Wang
Guang Yang
Litao Wang
Le Zhao
Shangping Ji
Mengyao Qi
XiaoHan Lu
Zhentong Liu
Jingyao Tan
Yingying Liu
Qing Wang
Ruiguang Xu
author_sort Yu Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors in the formation of ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Hence, using an online monitor, we measured the concentrations of 56 VOC species in Handan, one of the most polluted cities in China, from Sep. 2017 till Aug. 2018. We also characterized the VOC pollution by measuring the O3 and NOx and determining the chemical reactivity of the VOCs at different levels of O3 pollution, analyzing the regional O3 formation mechanisms, and apportioning the VOC sources. The daily VOC concentrations displayed a wide range, from 37.7 to 288.9 µg m–3, with an average of 112.0 ± 45.5 µg m–3, during the observation period, and the contribution of alkenes and other aromatics to the O3 formation potential (OFP) of the VOCs was higher on medium pollution days than clean days. Furthermore, the majority of the O3 during spring and winter was formed in VOC-sensitive regimes, whereas the high diurnal concentrations during summer and autumn were produced in NOx-sensitive regimes. Based on the i-butane/n-butane and i-propane/n-propane ratios, the main sources of butane and propane were vehicular exhaust and liquid gasoline, respectively. Source apportionment by principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the VOCs in Handan originated from vehicular emission, industrial production, solvent use, gasoline evaporation, and combustion.
format Article
id doaj-art-429e8436651a4abcaf0e57015f65fdd4
institution OA Journals
issn 1680-8584
2071-1409
language English
publishDate 2020-04-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series Aerosol and Air Quality Research
spelling doaj-art-429e8436651a4abcaf0e57015f65fdd42025-08-20T02:15:11ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092020-04-0120102196221010.4209/aaqr.2019.11.0608Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in ChinaYu Wang0Guang Yang1Litao Wang2Le Zhao3Shangping Ji4Mengyao Qi5XiaoHan Lu6Zhentong Liu7Jingyao Tan8Yingying Liu9Qing Wang10Ruiguang Xu11College of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringCollege of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Hebei University of EngineeringAbstract Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors in the formation of ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Hence, using an online monitor, we measured the concentrations of 56 VOC species in Handan, one of the most polluted cities in China, from Sep. 2017 till Aug. 2018. We also characterized the VOC pollution by measuring the O3 and NOx and determining the chemical reactivity of the VOCs at different levels of O3 pollution, analyzing the regional O3 formation mechanisms, and apportioning the VOC sources. The daily VOC concentrations displayed a wide range, from 37.7 to 288.9 µg m–3, with an average of 112.0 ± 45.5 µg m–3, during the observation period, and the contribution of alkenes and other aromatics to the O3 formation potential (OFP) of the VOCs was higher on medium pollution days than clean days. Furthermore, the majority of the O3 during spring and winter was formed in VOC-sensitive regimes, whereas the high diurnal concentrations during summer and autumn were produced in NOx-sensitive regimes. Based on the i-butane/n-butane and i-propane/n-propane ratios, the main sources of butane and propane were vehicular exhaust and liquid gasoline, respectively. Source apportionment by principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the VOCs in Handan originated from vehicular emission, industrial production, solvent use, gasoline evaporation, and combustion.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2019.11.0608Volatile organic compoundsChemical reactivityOzone formationSource apportionmentHandan city
spellingShingle Yu Wang
Guang Yang
Litao Wang
Le Zhao
Shangping Ji
Mengyao Qi
XiaoHan Lu
Zhentong Liu
Jingyao Tan
Yingying Liu
Qing Wang
Ruiguang Xu
Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in China
Aerosol and Air Quality Research
Volatile organic compounds
Chemical reactivity
Ozone formation
Source apportionment
Handan city
title Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in China
title_full Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in China
title_fullStr Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in China
title_full_unstemmed Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in China
title_short Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs in a City with Complex Pollution in China
title_sort characteristics and source apportionment of vocs in a city with complex pollution in china
topic Volatile organic compounds
Chemical reactivity
Ozone formation
Source apportionment
Handan city
url https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2019.11.0608
work_keys_str_mv AT yuwang characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT guangyang characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT litaowang characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT lezhao characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT shangpingji characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT mengyaoqi characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT xiaohanlu characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT zhentongliu characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT jingyaotan characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT yingyingliu characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT qingwang characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina
AT ruiguangxu characteristicsandsourceapportionmentofvocsinacitywithcomplexpollutioninchina