Evaluation of the VOC pollution pattern and emission characteristics during the Beijing resurgence of COVID-19 in summer 2020 based on the measurement of PTR-ToF-MS

Zhining Zhang; Hanyang Man; Fengkui Duan; Zhaofeng Lv; Songxin Zheng; Junchao Zhao; Feifan Huang; Zhenyu Luo; Kebin He; Huan Liu

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac3e99

Environmental Research Letters (Jan 2022)

Evaluation of the VOC pollution pattern and emission characteristics during the Beijing resurgence of COVID-19 in summer 2020 based on the measurement of PTR-ToF-MS

Zhining Zhang,
Hanyang Man,
Fengkui Duan,
Zhaofeng Lv,
Songxin Zheng,
Junchao Zhao,
Feifan Huang,
Zhenyu Luo,
Kebin He,
Huan Liu

Affiliations

Zhining Zhang: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Hanyang Man: Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Recycling of Fujian Province, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fujian Normal University , Fuzhou, 350007, People’s Republic of China
Fengkui Duan: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Zhaofeng Lv: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Songxin Zheng: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Junchao Zhao: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Feifan Huang: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Zhenyu Luo: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Kebin He: State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China
Huan Liu: ORCiD; State Key Joint Laboratory of ESPC, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, International Joint Laboratory on Low Carbon Clean Energy Innovation, School of Environment, Tsinghua University , Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac3e99
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 17, no. 2
p. 024002

Abstract

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A second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections emerged in Beijing in summer 2020, which provided an opportunity to explore the response of air pollution to reduced human activity. Proton-transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) coupled with positive matrix factorization (PMF) source apportionment were applied to evaluate the pollution pattern and capture the detailed dynamic emission characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the representative period, with the occurrence of O _3 pollution episodes and the Beijing resurgence of COVID-19. The level of anthropogenic VOC was lower than during the same period in previous years due to the pandemic and emission reduction measures. More than two thirds of the days during the observation period were identified as high-O _3 days and VOCs exhibited higher mixing ratios and faster consumption rates in the daytime on high-O _3 days. The identified VOC emission sources and the corresponding contributions during the whole observation period included: vehicle + fuel (12.41 ± 9.43%), industrial process (9.40 ± 8.65%), solvent usage (19.58 ± 13.46%), biogenic (6.03 ± 5.40%), background + long-lived (5.62 ± 11.37%), and two groups of oxygenated VOC (OVOC) factors (primary emission and secondary formation, 26.14 ± 15.20% and 20.84 ± 14.0%, respectively). Refined dynamic source apportionment results show that the ‘stay at home’ tendency led to decreased emission (−34.47 ± 1.90%) and a weakened morning peak of vehicle + fuel during the Beijing resurgence. However, a growing emission of primary OVOCs (+51.10 ± 8.28%) with similar diurnal variation was observed in the new outbreak and afterwards, which might be related to the enhanced usage of products intended to clean and disinfect. The present study illustrated that more stringent VOC reduction measures towards pandemic products should be carried out to achieve the balanced emission abatement of NO _x and VOC when adhering to regular epidemic prevention and control measures.

Published in Environmental Research Letters

ISSN: 1748-9326 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering; Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences; Science: Physics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326

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