Analysis of the National Air Pollutant Emissions Inventory (CAPSS 2017) Data and Assessment of Emissions based on Air Quality Modeling in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

Abstract According to the 2017 National Air Pollutant Emissions Inventory (NEI), air pollutant emissions in the Republic of Korea comprised 817,420 metric tons (hereafter tons) of CO, 1,189,800 tons of NOx, 315,530 tons of SOx, 592,582 tons of TSP, 218,476 tons of PM10, 91,731 tons of PM2.5, 15,555 tons of black carbon (BC), 1,047,585 tons of VOCs, and 308,298 tons of NH3. Emissions of the 13 first-level emission source categories, which constitute the NEI, were estimated and, based on their characteristics, the emission source categories were grouped into five sectors (energy, industry, road, non-road, and everyday activities and others). In addition, the contributions of primary PM2.5 and its four precursors (NOx, SOx, VOCs, and NH3) to the 2017 NEI were assessed in this study. The emission contributions of NOx to the NEI were 36.5% for the road sector, which was the highest of those of all the air pollutants for this sector; NOx emissions for this sector were 4.2% lower than those in the previous year. The emission contributions of SOx and PM2.5 to the NEI were higher than those of the other air pollutants for the industry sector; SOx and PM2.5 emissions for this sector decreased by 9.8% and 19.7%, respectively, compared with those in the previous year. The emission contributions of VOCs and NH3 to the NEI were 65.3% and 83.9% for the everyday activities and others sector, respectively, higher than those of the other air pollutants for this sector; VOCs and NH3 emissions for this sector increased by 0.8% and 2.9%, respectively, compared with those in the previous year. A three-dimensional (3D) chemical transport modeling system was used to validate the emission estimates. These data suggest that simulated SOx emissions were overestimated in areas with dense large-scale industrial complexes, such as Jeollanam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Ulsan, and that simulated NOx emissions were overestimated in Seoul, Incheon, and Jeollanam-do.

Keywords

• NEI
• CAPSS
• CMAQ
• NEAS
• PM2.5