Emission characteristics and ozone formation potentials of VOCs from ultra-low-emission waterborne automotive painting

Runhua Ou; Chun Chang; Yicong Zeng; Xiong Zhang; Mingli Fu; Liya Fan; Peirong Chen; Daiqi Ye

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135469

Emission characteristics and ozone formation potentials of VOCs from ultra-low-emission waterborne automotive painting

Chemosphere. 2022 Oct:305:135469. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135469. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Authors

Runhua Ou¹, Chun Chang², Yicong Zeng², Xiong Zhang², Mingli Fu³, Liya Fan³, Peirong Chen⁴, Daiqi Ye³

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, National Engineering Laboratory for VOCs Pollution Control Technology and Equipment, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, 510006, Guangzhou, China; GAC Honda Automobile Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, 510700, PR China.
² GAC Honda Automobile Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, 510700, PR China.
³ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, National Engineering Laboratory for VOCs Pollution Control Technology and Equipment, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, 510006, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, National Engineering Laboratory for VOCs Pollution Control Technology and Equipment, School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, 510006, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: chenpr@scut.edu.cn.

PMID: 35753426
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135469

Abstract

Automotive painting plants are important emission sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute significantly to ground-level ozone (O₃) pollution in atmosphere. Here, we investigated process-specified emission characteristics of VOCs, without or with advanced adsorption/incineration after-treatments, from an ultra-low-emission (ULE) waterborne painting process in a modernized automotive plant. Overall, more than 80 VOCs species were identified and sorted into seven main categories. In the stack emissions without after-treatments, oxygenated VOCs (alcohols, esters, ketones, ethers, etc.) were found to be the most abundant components (48.8%), followed by aromatic (30.9%), alkanes (16.9%) and alkenes (1.2%). Among the different VOCs species discharged to atmosphere (i.e. after adsorption/incineration after-treatments), aromatics demonstrated a predominant contribution (by 60.6%) to the total O₃ formation potentials (OFPs) despite their relatively lower abundance. Trimethylbenzene was identified to have the highest OFPs, and thus should be controlled with peculiar priority. As compared to traditional organic solvent-based painting process, the ULE waterborne process implemented in the target plant allows to reduce the OFPs from 10.7 mg m^-3 to 3 mg m^-3 (or by 72%). Additional monitoring by unmanned aerial vehicle (over more than 3000 sampling points in the plant) confirmed that the instantaneous concentrations of fugitive VOCs were well below the regulated limit value during typical working and non-working days. These findings may provide important reference for reduction of VOCs emissions and O₃ pollution from automotive painting processes.

Keywords: Aromatics; Automobile manufacturing; Oxygenated VOCs; Trimethylbenzene; Ultra-low-emission; Unmanned aerial vehicle.

MeSH terms

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

Substances

Air Pollutants
Volatile Organic Compounds
Ozone