Spatiotemporal patterns and ozone sensitivity of gaseous carbonyls at eleven urban sites in southeastern China

Xin Zhang; Zhenhai Wu; Zhen He; Xuefen Zhong; Fang Bi; Yunfeng Li; Rui Gao; Hong Li; Wenxing Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153719

Spatiotemporal patterns and ozone sensitivity of gaseous carbonyls at eleven urban sites in southeastern China

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jun 10:824:153719. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153719. Epub 2022 Feb 8.

Authors

Xin Zhang¹, Zhenhai Wu², Zhen He³, Xuefen Zhong⁴, Fang Bi², Yunfeng Li⁵, Rui Gao⁶, Hong Li², Wenxing Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing 100083, China.
⁴ Fujian Academy of Environmental Sciences, Fuzhou 350013, China.
⁵ School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China. Electronic address: gaorui@craes.org.cn.

PMID: 35149078
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153719

Abstract

Gaseous carbonyls are essential trace gases for tropospheric chemistry and contribute significantly to the formation of ambient air ozone (O₃) in densely populated regions, especially in China. Pollution characterization and the analysis of O₃, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (O₃-NO_X-VOCs) sensitivities of carbonyls were investigated from October 22 to 28, 2018 at eleven urban sites in nine cities in Fujian Province, southeastern China. The total mixing ratios of 15 kinds of gaseous carbonyls (Σ15OVOCs) was 12.15 ± 2.53 ppbv in Fujian Province. The concentrations in the eastern coastal regions were higher than those in the western mountainous regions. Formaldehyde, acetone, and acetaldehyde were the top three species of Σ15OVOCs concentration. Photochemical formation during the daytime and vehicle emission during the rush hours significantly contributed to formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. The shoe-making industry is well developed in Putian, where the acetone mixing ratio was significantly higher than in other cities. The O₃-NO_X-VOCs sensitivities at all urban sites were in VOC-limited or transitional regimes based on the ratios of formaldehyde to NO₂; from morning to afternoon, the VOC-limited sensitivity decreased, and the NO_X-limited sensitivity increased gradually. Formaldehyde contributed the most significant O₃ formation potential (OFP) proportion of the Σ15OVOCs. The OFP of carbonyl species accounted for half of the total VOCs in Fuzhou and Putian, suggesting that more attention needs to be given to gaseous carbonyls control. Overall, the links inferred by this study provide evidence and clues to mitigate the increasing ambient O₃ concentration on the west coast of the Taiwan Strait.

Keywords: Fujian; Gaseous carbonyls; O(3)-NO(X)-VOCs sensitivities; Ozone formation potential; Pollution characterization.

MeSH terms

Acetaldehyde / analysis
Acetone
Air Pollutants* / analysis
China
Environmental Monitoring
Formaldehyde / analysis
Ozone* / analysis
Photochemical Processes
Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Volatile Organic Compounds
Acetone
Formaldehyde
Ozone
Acetaldehyde