Long-term winter observation of nitrous acid in the urban area of Beijing

Chaofan Lian; Weigang Wang; Yan Chen; Yusheng Zhang; Jingwei Zhang; Yongchun Liu; Xiaolong Fan; Chang Li; Junlei Zhan; Zhuohui Lin; Chenjie Hua; Wenyu Zhang; Mingyuan Liu; Junling Li; Xuefei Wang; Junling An; Maofa Ge

doi:10.1016/j.jes.2021.09.010

Long-term winter observation of nitrous acid in the urban area of Beijing

J Environ Sci (China). 2022 Apr:114:334-342. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2021.09.010. Epub 2022 Feb 20.

Authors

Chaofan Lian¹, Weigang Wang², Yan Chen¹, Yusheng Zhang³, Jingwei Zhang⁴, Yongchun Liu⁵, Xiaolong Fan³, Chang Li³, Junlei Zhan³, Zhuohui Lin³, Chenjie Hua³, Wenyu Zhang¹, Mingyuan Liu¹, Junling Li⁶, Xuefei Wang⁷, Junling An⁸, Maofa Ge⁹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: wangwg@iccas.ac.cn.
³ Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
⁵ Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: liuyc@mail.buct.edu.cn.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.
⁷ University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Center for Excellence in Urban Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
⁹ State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Center for Excellence in Urban Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China. Electronic address: gemaofa@iccas.ac.cn.

PMID: 35459496
DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2021.09.010

Abstract

The particulate matter (PM) pollution has been significantly improved by carrying out various valid emission control strategies since 2013 in China. Meanwhile the variation trend of nitrous acid (HONO) is worthy to investigate due to its vital role in the atmospheric oxidation process. In this study, field observation in the winter is conducted to investigate the concentration of HONO in an urban area of Beijing. In the winter of 2019, the mean HONO concentration is 1.38 ppbV during the whole winter. Photo-enhanced NO₂ heterogeneous reactions on the ground and aerosol surfaces were found as the possible daytime sources of HONO. Compared to O₃, photolysis of HONO dominates the primary OH sources during the winter time. To understand the HONO pollution patterns by years variation, multi-year data is summarized and finds that primary pollutants including CO and NO decreased, but secondary pollutants i.e., HONO (mostly generated via secondary process) increased. Our study highlights the requirement to mitigate secondary pollution by control HONO concentration.

Keywords: Field observation; Nitrous acid; Winter air pollution.

MeSH terms

Aerosols
Beijing
Environmental Pollutants*
Nitrous Acid* / analysis
Seasons

Substances

Aerosols
Environmental Pollutants
Nitrous Acid