Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) as precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosols can cause adverse effects on the environment and human health.However,knowledge of the VOC vertical profile in the lower troposphere of major Chinese cities is poorly understood.In this study,tethered balloon flights were conducted over the juncture of BeijingTianjin-Hebei in China during the winter of 2016.Thirty-six vertical air samples were collected on selected heavy and light pollution days at altitudes of 50-1000 meters above ground level.On average,the concentration of total VOCs(TVOCs) at 50-100 m was 4.9 times higher than at 900-1000 m(46.9 ppbV vs.8.0 ppbV).TVOC concentrations changed rapidly from altitudes of 50-100 to 401-500 m,with an average decrease of 72%.With further altitude increase,the TVOC concentration gradually decreased.The xylene/benzene ratios of 34/36 air samples were lower than 1.1,and the benzene/toluene ratios of 34/36 samples were higher than 0.4,indicating the occurrence of aged air mass during the sampling period.Alkenes contributed most in terms of both OH loss rate(39%-71%) and ozone formation potential(40%-72%),followed by aromatics(6%-38%).Finally,the main factors affecting the vertical distributions of VOCs were local source emission and negative dispersion conditions on polluted days.These data could advance our scientific understanding of VOC vertical distribution.
To evaluate the potential benefits of biomass use for air pollution control, this paper identified and quantified the emissions of major reactive organic compounds anticipated from biomass-fired industrial boilers. Wood pellets(WP) and straw pellets(SP) were burned to determine the volatile organic compound emission profiles for each biomass-boiler combination. More than 100 types of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) were measured from the two biomass boilers. The measured VOC species included alkanes, alkenes and acetylenes, aromatics, halocarbons and carbonyls. A single coal-fired boiler(CB) was also studied to provide a basis for comparison. Biomass boiler 1(BB1) emitted relatively high proportions of alkanes(28.9%–38.1% by mass) and alkenes and acetylenes(23.4%–40.8%),while biomass boiler 2(BB2) emitted relatively high proportions of aromatics(27.9%–29.2%)and oxygenated VOCs(33.0%–44.8%). The total VOC(TVOC) emission factors from BB1(128.59–146.16 mg/kg) were higher than those from BB2(41.26–85.29 mg/kg). The total ozone formation potential(OFP) ranged from 6.26 to 81.75 mg/m^3 with an average of 33.66 mg/m^3 for the two biomass boilers. The total secondary organic aerosol potential(SOAP) ranged from 61.56 to 211.67 mg/m^3 with an average of 142.27 mg/m^3 for the two biomass boilers.The emission factors(EFs) of TVOCs from biomass boilers in this study were similar to those for industrial coal-fired boilers with the same thermal power. These data can supplement existing VOC emission factors for biomass combustion and thus enrich the VOC emission inventory.
Domestic coal stove is widely used in China, especially for countryside during heating period of winter, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) are important in flue gas of the stove. By using dilution tunnel system, samples of both gaseous and particulate phases from domestic coal combustion were collected and 18 PAH species were analyzed by GC-MS. The average emission factors of total 18 PAH species was 171.73 mg/kg, ranging from 140.75 to 229.11 mg/kg for bituminous coals, while was 93.98 mg/kg, ranging from 58.48 to 129.47 mg/kg for anthracite coals. PAHs in gaseous phases occupied 95% of the total of PAHs emission of coal combustion. In particulate phase, 3-ring and 4-ring PAHs were the main components, accounting for 80% of the total particulate PAHs. The total toxicity potency evaluated by benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent carcinogenic power, sum of 7 carcinogenic PAH components and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin had a similar tendency. And as a result, the toxic potential of bituminous coal was higher than that of anthracite coal. Efcient emission control should be conducted to reduce PAH emissions in order to protect ecosystem and human health.
Chunmei GengJianhua ChenXiaoyang YangLihong RenBaohui YinXiaoyu LiuZhipeng Bai
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) are carcinogenic or mutagenic and are important toxic pollutants in the flue gas of boilers. Two industrial grade biomass boilers were selected to investigate the characteristics of particulate-bound PAHs: one biomass boiler retro-fitted from an oil boiler(BB1) and one specially designed(BB2) biomass boiler. One coal-fired boiler was also selected for comparison. By using a dilution tunnel system, particulate samples from boilers were collected and 10 PAH species were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry(GC–MS). The total emission factors(EFs) of PAHs ranged from 0.0064 to0.0380 mg/kg, with an average of 0.0225 mg/kg, for the biomass boiler emission samples. The total PAH EFs for the tested coal-fired boiler were 1.8 times lower than the average value of the biomass boilers. The PAH diagnostic ratios for wood pellets and straw pellets were similar.The ratio of indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene/[indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene + benzo(g,h,i)perylene] for the two biomass boilers was lower than those of the reference data for other burning devices, which can probably be used as an indicator to distinguish the emission of biomass boilers from that of industrial coal-fired boilers and residential stoves. The toxic potential of the emission from wood pellet burning was higher than that from straw pellet burning, however both of them were much lower than residential stove exhausts.
