Volatile organic compounds and their contribution to ground-level ozone formation in a tropical urban environment

Mohd Faizul Hilmi Zulkifli; Nor Syamimi Sufiera Limi Hawari; Mohd Talib Latif; Haris Hafizal Abd Hamid; Anis Asma Ahmad Mohtar; Wan Mohd Razi Wan Idris; Nur Ili Hamizah Mustaffa; Liew Juneng

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134852

Volatile organic compounds and their contribution to ground-level ozone formation in a tropical urban environment

Chemosphere. 2022 Sep:302:134852. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134852. Epub 2022 May 6.

Authors

Mohd Faizul Hilmi Zulkifli¹, Nor Syamimi Sufiera Limi Hawari², Mohd Talib Latif³, Haris Hafizal Abd Hamid², Anis Asma Ahmad Mohtar², Wan Mohd Razi Wan Idris², Nur Ili Hamizah Mustaffa⁴, Liew Juneng²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia; Air Division, Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Water, 62574, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
² Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia.
³ Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Malaysia; Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, 60115, Surabaya, Indonesia. Electronic address: talib@ukm.edu.my.
⁴ Department of Environment, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

PMID: 35533940
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134852

Abstract

This study aims to determine the trends of volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations and their potential contribution to O₃ formation. The hourly data (August 2017 to July 2018) for 29 VOCs were obtained from three Malaysian Department of Environment continuous air quality monitoring stations with different urban backgrounds (Shah Alam, Cheras, Seremban). The Ozone Formation Potential (OFP) was calculated based on the individual Maximum Incremental Reactivity (MIR) and VOC concentrations. The results showed that the highest mean total VOC concentrations were recorded at Cheras (148 ± 123 μg m^-3), within the Kuala Lumpur urban environment, followed by Shah Alam (124 ± 116 μg m^-3) and Seremban (86.4 ± 89.2 μg m^-3). VOCs such as n-butane, ethene, ethane and toluene were reported to be the most abundant species at all the selected stations, with overall mean concentrations of 16.6 ± 11.9 μg m^-3, 12.1 ± 13.3 μg m^-3, 10.8 ± 11.9 μg m^-3 and 9.67 ± 9.00 μg m^-3, respectively. Alkenes (51.3-59.1%) and aromatic hydrocarbons (26.4-33.5%) have been identified as the major contributors to O₃ formation in the study areas based on the overall VOC measurements. Relative humidity was found to influence the concentrations of VOCs more than other meteorological parameters. Overall, this study will contribute to further understanding of the distribution of VOCs and their contribution to O₃ formation, particularly in the tropical urban environment.

Keywords: Ozone potential formation; Tropical environment; Urban background; Volatile organic compounds.

MeSH terms

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

Substances

Air Pollutants
Volatile Organic Compounds
Toluene
Ozone