Characterization and sources of trace elements in PM1 during autumn and winter in Qingdao, Northern China

Ziyang Liu; Houyong Zhang; Yisheng Zhang; Xiaohuan Liu; Zizhen Ma; Lian Xue; Xing Peng; Jiaojiao Zhao; Weiwei Gong; Qianqian Peng; Jinhua Du; Jiao Wang; Yuran Tan; Lingyan He; Yingjie Sun

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151319

Characterization and sources of trace elements in PM₁ during autumn and winter in Qingdao, Northern China

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Mar 10:811:151319. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151319. Epub 2021 Oct 30.

Authors

Ziyang Liu¹, Houyong Zhang², Yisheng Zhang³, Xiaohuan Liu⁴, Zizhen Ma¹, Lian Xue⁵, Xing Peng⁶, Jiaojiao Zhao², Weiwei Gong⁷, Qianqian Peng¹, Jinhua Du¹, Jiao Wang⁴, Yuran Tan¹, Lingyan He⁶, Yingjie Sun¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China.
² Jinan Eco-environment Monitoring Center of Shandong Province, Jinan 250100, China.
³ School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangdong 511486, China. Electronic address: doctorzys1@gmail.com.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Marine Environment and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
⁵ Qingdao Eco-environment Monitoring Center of Shandong Province, Qingdao 266003, China.
⁶ School of Environment and Energy, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China.
⁷ Laboratory of Transport Pollution Control and Monitoring Technology, Transport Planning and Research Institute, Ministry of Transport, Beijing 100028, China.

PMID: 34757104
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151319

Abstract

Atmospheric sub-micrometer particles (PM₁, particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 1.0 μm) monitoring in Qingdao, a coastal city in Northern China, was conducted for two consecutive years from November 1, 2018 to January 31, 2019 (hereafter referred to as OP₂₀₁₈_-₂₀₁₉) and from October 28, 2019 to January 20, 2020 (hereafter referred to as OP₂₀₁₉_-₂₀₂₀). The results showed that compared with OP₂₀₁₈_-₂₀₁₉, the concentrations of V, Ni, As, Pb, and Cd in PM₁ in OP₂₀₁₉_-₂₀₂₀ decreased by 61.9%, 31.4%, 49.2%, 25.4%, and 27.1%, respectively. For the indicators of ship emission sources, a significant reduction in V (73.3%) and Ni (22.1%) concentrations were observed after the implementation of the updated Domestic Emission Control Area (DECA 2.0) policy for ships since January 1, 2019 proposed by the Ministry of Transportation. This result demonstrated that the implementation of the DECA 2.0 policy had a significant effect on reducing ship emissions. The Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope analysis identified the impact of ship emission sources, while the inconsistent distribution of V and Ni revealed other potential sources of Ni. The V/Ni ratios during the pre-policy and post-policy periods decreased by 40.7%. Along with the further implementation of the domestic coastal ship pollution control zone policy, V/Ni ratio should be cautiously used as a parameter for ship emission sources. The positive matrix factorization method identified five source factors: coal combustion/biomass burning (47.8%), crustal sources (21.2%), vehicle exhaust/road dust (15.1%), industrial emissions (11.1%), and ship emissions (4.9%). The contribution rates of ship emission sources before and after the DECA 2.0 policy were analyzed and found to be 5.6% and 3.4%. The potential source contribution factor analysis of As showed that the potential emission source areas were significantly reduced in OP₂₀₁₉_-₂₀₂₀, which might be related to the coal fired cleanup operations conducted in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas.

Keywords: Atmospheric PM(1); Qingdao; Ship emission; Source apportionment; Trace elements.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
China
Environmental Monitoring
Particulate Matter / analysis
Seasons
Trace Elements* / analysis
Vehicle Emissions / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter
Trace Elements
Vehicle Emissions