Investigating the impacts of coal-fired power plants on ambient PM2.5 by a combination of a chemical transport model and receptor model

Xi Chen; Ting Yang; Zifa Wang; Yufang Hao; Litao He; Huanhuan Sun

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138407

Investigating the impacts of coal-fired power plants on ambient PM_2.5 by a combination of a chemical transport model and receptor model

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jul 20:727:138407. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138407. Epub 2020 Apr 17.

Authors

Xi Chen¹, Ting Yang², Zifa Wang³, Yufang Hao⁴, Litao He⁵, Huanhuan Sun⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China. Electronic address: tingyang@mail.iap.ac.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁴ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁵ Hengshui Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, Hengshui 053000, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.

PMID: 32498204
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138407

Abstract

Aimed at evaluating the impacts of coal-fired power plants on urban air quality and human health, a one-month intensive observation campaign was conducted in a typical polluted city located in the 2 + 26 city cluster (Beijing, Tianjin and 26 other cities) of the North China Plain in December 2017. The observation results illustrated that the coal-fired power plant in this city increased the monthly average fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentration by ~5% at the city scale. The impacts differed under various diffusion conditions. A three-dimensional nested air quality condition model (the Nested Air Quality Perdition Model System or NAQPMS) with source apportionment was employed to analyze the impacts. The results indicated that power plants had the largest effect on regional air quality during the severe-pollution period, while any influence could be ignored during periods with excellent dissipation under robust winds. PM_2.5 contributed by the power plant mainly occurred below 150 m, diffused 100 km away, and reached a level of approximately 5 μg m^-³ during the light-pollution period. During the accumulation period, the plume reached a height of 500 m, diffused to the downwind area approximately 100 km away within half a day, and contributed at most 40 μg m^-³ to PM_2.5. The affected area expanded to 250 km during the severe-pollution period, and the contribution to PM_2.5 was at least 10 μg m^-³ at different distances. The affected height reached approximately 500 m, with PM_2.5 exceeding 10 μg m^-³, mainly constrained below 150 m. Overall, regional integrated control strategies should be implemented for the power plants in the 2 + 26 city cluster during pollution episodes to further improve air quality.

Keywords: 2 + 26 city cluster; Air quality impacts; Coal-fired power plant.