Chemical Characterization, Source, and SOA Production of Intermediate Volatile Organic Compounds during Haze Episodes in North China

Xinxin Feng; Jinhu Zhao; Yanli Feng; Junjie Cai; Caiqing Yan; Yingjun Chen

doi:10.3390/atmos12111484

Atmosphere (Nov 2021)

Chemical Characterization, Source, and SOA Production of Intermediate Volatile Organic Compounds during Haze Episodes in North China

Xinxin Feng,
Jinhu Zhao,
Yanli Feng,
Junjie Cai,
Caiqing Yan,
Yingjun Chen

Affiliations

Xinxin Feng: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Jinhu Zhao: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Yanli Feng: Institute of Environmental Pollution and Health, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Junjie Cai: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Caiqing Yan: Environment Research Institute, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Yingjun Chen: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Particle Pollution and Prevention (LAP3), Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12111484
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 11
p. 1484

Abstract

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The growth of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) is a vital cause of the outbreaks of winter haze in North China. Intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOCs) are important precursors of SOA. Therefore, the chemical characteristics, source, and SOA production of IVOCs during haze episodes have attracted much attention. Hourly time resolution IVOC samples during two haze episodes collected in Hebei Province in North China were analyzed in this study. Results showed that: (1) the concentration of IVOCs measured was within the range of 11.3~85.1 μg·cm−3 during haze episodes, with normal alkanes (n-alkanes), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), branched alkanes (b-alkanes), and the residue unresolved complex mixture (R-UCM) accounting for 8.6 ± 2.3%, 6.8 ± 2.2%, 24.1 ± 3.8%, and 60.5 ± 6.5% of IVOCs, respectively. NC12-nC15 in n-alkanes, naphthalene and its alkyl substitutes in PAHs, b-alkanes in B12–B16 bins, and R-UCM in B12–B16 bins are the main components, accounting for 87.0 ± 0.2%, 87.6 ± 2.9%, 85.9 ± 5.4%, 74.0 ± 8.3%, respectively. (2) Based on the component characteristics of IVOCs and the ratios of n-alkanes/b-alkanes in emission sources and the hourly variation of IVOCs during haze episodes, coal combustion (CC), biomass burning (BB), gasoline vehicles (GV), and diesel vehicles (DV)were identified as important emission sources of IVOCs in Hebei Province. (3) During haze episodes, temporal variation of the estimated SOA production based on different methods (such as IVOCs concentration, OC/ECmin tracer, and the PMF model) were similar; however, the absolute values were different. This difference may be due to the transformation of IVOCs to SOA affected by various factors such as SOA production from different IVOC components, meteorological conditions, atmospheric oxidation, etc.

Published in Atmosphere

ISSN: 2073-4433 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Physics: Meteorology. Climatology
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphere/

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