Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern China

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from industrial processes, which are major emission sources of air pollutants, could cause significant impacts on air quality. However, studies on the comprehensive analysis from sources contributing to the health risk perspective regarding ambient VOCs in i...

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Main Authors: Xiangyu Zhang, Yulong Yan, Xiaolin Duan, Jianwei Chai, Rumei Li, Yang Xu, Zhiyong Li, Lin Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-02-01
Series:Atmosphere
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/3/393
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author Xiangyu Zhang
Yulong Yan
Xiaolin Duan
Jianwei Chai
Rumei Li
Yang Xu
Zhiyong Li
Lin Peng
author_facet Xiangyu Zhang
Yulong Yan
Xiaolin Duan
Jianwei Chai
Rumei Li
Yang Xu
Zhiyong Li
Lin Peng
author_sort Xiangyu Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from industrial processes, which are major emission sources of air pollutants, could cause significant impacts on air quality. However, studies on the comprehensive analysis from sources contributing to the health risk perspective regarding ambient VOCs in industrial cities are limited. In this study, VOC samples were collected from 15 April 2018 to 19 October 2018 in Changzhi, a typical industrial city in northern China, and a total of 57 VOCs were measured for analysis. The average VOC concentrations were 54.4 µg·m<sup>−3</sup>, with the highest concentrations in autumn (58.4 µg·m<sup>−3</sup>). Ambient VOCs in spring, summer and autumn were all dominated by alkanes (66.8%), with contributions of 70.3%, 66.3% and 63.8%, respectively. The top five concentrations of total VOCs were isopentane (19.0%), ethane (9.5%), n-butane (8.1%), benzene (7.9%) and propane (5.2%), indicating that vehicle exhaust and coal combustion are the main sources of VOCs. Source apportionment by principal component analysis showed that vehicle exhaust (27.5%) and coal combustion (23.5%) were the main sources of VOCs in Changzhi, followed by industrial production (17.4%), solvent evaporation (13.5%), liquefied petroleum gas/natural gas leaking (9.5%), and biogenic emissions (8.7%). Sources of coal combustion and vehicle exhaust contributed more VOCs than industrial production. The carcinogenic risks of benzene (3.4 × 10<sup>−5</sup>) and ethylbenzene (2.2 × 10<sup>−6</sup>) were higher than the limit levels (1 × 10<sup>−6</sup>). Coal combustion contributed most (25.3%) to the carcinogenic risks because of its high VOC emissions. In an industrial city such as Changzhi, vehicle exhaust and coal combustion have become major sources of ambient air VOCs owing to the increasingly stringent industrial standards. Therefore, VOCs from vehicle exhaust and coal combustion also need to take into account mitigation measures for VOCs from the perspective of source contribution to health risk.
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spelling doaj.art-e8af817186ee41daa1f67728210cf4642023-11-24T00:26:08ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-02-0113339310.3390/atmos13030393Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern ChinaXiangyu Zhang0Yulong Yan1Xiaolin Duan2Jianwei Chai3Rumei Li4Yang Xu5Zhiyong Li6Lin Peng7Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, ChinaKey Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, ChinaKey Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, ChinaKey Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, ChinaKey Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, ChinaKey Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, ChinaCollege of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, ChinaKey Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, ChinaVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from industrial processes, which are major emission sources of air pollutants, could cause significant impacts on air quality. However, studies on the comprehensive analysis from sources contributing to the health risk perspective regarding ambient VOCs in industrial cities are limited. In this study, VOC samples were collected from 15 April 2018 to 19 October 2018 in Changzhi, a typical industrial city in northern China, and a total of 57 VOCs were measured for analysis. The average VOC concentrations were 54.4 µg·m<sup>−3</sup>, with the highest concentrations in autumn (58.4 µg·m<sup>−3</sup>). Ambient VOCs in spring, summer and autumn were all dominated by alkanes (66.8%), with contributions of 70.3%, 66.3% and 63.8%, respectively. The top five concentrations of total VOCs were isopentane (19.0%), ethane (9.5%), n-butane (8.1%), benzene (7.9%) and propane (5.2%), indicating that vehicle exhaust and coal combustion are the main sources of VOCs. Source apportionment by principal component analysis showed that vehicle exhaust (27.5%) and coal combustion (23.5%) were the main sources of VOCs in Changzhi, followed by industrial production (17.4%), solvent evaporation (13.5%), liquefied petroleum gas/natural gas leaking (9.5%), and biogenic emissions (8.7%). Sources of coal combustion and vehicle exhaust contributed more VOCs than industrial production. The carcinogenic risks of benzene (3.4 × 10<sup>−5</sup>) and ethylbenzene (2.2 × 10<sup>−6</sup>) were higher than the limit levels (1 × 10<sup>−6</sup>). Coal combustion contributed most (25.3%) to the carcinogenic risks because of its high VOC emissions. In an industrial city such as Changzhi, vehicle exhaust and coal combustion have become major sources of ambient air VOCs owing to the increasingly stringent industrial standards. Therefore, VOCs from vehicle exhaust and coal combustion also need to take into account mitigation measures for VOCs from the perspective of source contribution to health risk.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/3/393industrial cityVOCssource apportionmentcoal combustionair toxics
spellingShingle Xiangyu Zhang
Yulong Yan
Xiaolin Duan
Jianwei Chai
Rumei Li
Yang Xu
Zhiyong Li
Lin Peng
Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern China
Atmosphere
industrial city
VOCs
source apportionment
coal combustion
air toxics
title Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern China
title_full Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern China
title_fullStr Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern China
title_full_unstemmed Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern China
title_short Sources and Seasonal Variance of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in the Typical Industrial City of Changzhi, Northern China
title_sort sources and seasonal variance of ambient volatile organic compounds in the typical industrial city of changzhi northern china
topic industrial city
VOCs
source apportionment
coal combustion
air toxics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/3/393
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