Abundance and origin of fine particulate chloride in continental China

Xue Yang; Tao Wang; Men Xia; Xiaomen Gao; Qinyi Li; Naiwen Zhang; Yuan Gao; Shuncheng Lee; Xinfeng Wang; Likun Xue; Lingxiao Yang; Wenxing Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.205

Abundance and origin of fine particulate chloride in continental China

Sci Total Environ. 2018 May 15:624:1041-1051. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.205. Epub 2017 Dec 27.

Authors

Xue Yang¹, Tao Wang², Men Xia³, Xiaomen Gao⁴, Qinyi Li³, Naiwen Zhang³, Yuan Gao⁵, Shuncheng Lee³, Xinfeng Wang⁶, Likun Xue⁶, Lingxiao Yang⁷, Wenxing Wang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: cetwang@polyu.edu.hk.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
⁴ Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China; School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁵ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China; Department of Civil Engineering, The Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Castle Peak Bay, Hong Kong, China.
⁶ Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁷ Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China; School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.

PMID: 29929221
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.205

Abstract

Particulate chloride can be converted to nitryl chloride (ClNO₂) through heterogeneous reactions with dinitrogen pentoxide (N₂O₅), and photolysis of ClNO₂ affects atmospheric oxidative capacity. However, the characteristics and sources of chloride, especially those with an anthropogenic origin, are poorly characterized, which makes it difficult to evaluate the effects of ClNO₂ on radical chemistry and air quality in polluted regions. Aerosol composition data from the literature were compiled to derive the spatial distributions of particulate chloride across China, and hourly aerosol composition data collected at a highly polluted inland urban site in eastern China and at a coastal site in southern China were analysed to gain further insights into non-oceanic sources of chloride. The results show that particulate chloride is concentrated mainly in fine particles and that high chloride loadings are observed in the inland urban areas of northern and western China with higher Cl^-/Na⁺ mass ratios (2.46 to 5.00) than sea water (1.81), indicative of significant contributions from anthropogenic sources. At the inland urban site, the fine chloride displays distinct seasonality, with higher levels in winter and summer. Correlation analysis and positive matrix factorization (PMF) results indicate that coal combustion and residential biomass burning are the main sources (84.8%) of fine chloride in winter, and open biomass burning is the major sources (52.7%) in summer. The transport of plumes from inland polluted areas leads to elevated fine chloride in coastal areas. A simulation with WRF-Chem model confirmed a minor contribution of sea-salt aerosol to fine chloride at the inland site during summer with winds from the East Sea. The widespread sources of chloride, together with abundant NOx and ozone, suggest significant ClNO₂ production and subsequent enhanced photochemical processes over China.

Keywords: Abundance; Anthropogenic source; Continental China; Fine chloride.