A comprehensive investigation on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in 2018 in Beijing, China: Characteristics, sources and behaviours in response to O3 formation

Chenlu Li; Yafei Liu; Bingfen Cheng; Yuepeng Zhang; Xingang Liu; Yu Qu; Junling An; Liuwei Kong; Yingying Zhang; Chen Zhang; Qinwen Tan; Miao Feng

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150247

A comprehensive investigation on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in 2018 in Beijing, China: Characteristics, sources and behaviours in response to O₃ formation

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Feb 1;806(Pt 1):150247. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150247. Epub 2021 Sep 10.

Authors

Chenlu Li¹, Yafei Liu¹, Bingfen Cheng², Yuepeng Zhang¹, Xingang Liu³, Yu Qu⁴, Junling An⁵, Liuwei Kong¹, Yingying Zhang¹, Chen Zhang¹, Qinwen Tan⁶, Miao Feng⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
² Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: liuxingang@bnu.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: quyu@mail.iap.ac.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
⁶ Chengdu Academy of Environmental Sciences, Chengdu 610072, China.

PMID: 34562762
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150247

Abstract

Observations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a prerequisite for evaluating the effectiveness of government efforts targeting VOC pollution. Here, based on the one-year online VOC measurement in 2018 in Beijing, systematic analyses and model simulation were conducted to illuminate VOC characteristics, emission sources, regional hotspots and behaviours in response to O₃ formation. The observed mean VOC concentration in 2018 was 29.12 ± 17.64 ppbv declined distinctly compared to that in 2015 and 2016. Vehicle exhaust (39.95%), natural gas/liquefied petroleum gas (22.04%) and industrial sources (20.64%) were the main contributors to VOCs in Beijing. Regional transport, mainly from the south-south-east (SSE) and south-south-west (SSW), quantitatively contributed 36.65%-55.06% to VOCs based on our developed method. O₃ sensitivity tended to be in the transition regime in summer identified by ground-based and satellite observations. Strong solar radiation along with high temperature and low humidity aggravated O₃ pollution that was further intensified by regional transport from southern polluted regions. The model simulation determined that turning off CH₃CHO related reactions brought about the most predominantly short-term and long-run O₃ reduction, indicating that control policies in VOC species should be tailored, instead of one-size-fits-all. Overall, region-collaborated and active VOC-species-focused strategies on VOC controls are imperative.

Keywords: O(3) sensitivity; Regional transport contribution; Source apportionment; VOCs; WRF-Chem.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Beijing
China
Environmental Monitoring
Ozone* / analysis
Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Volatile Organic Compounds
Ozone