| Title: | Optimization of a volatile organic compound control strategy in an oil industry center in Canada by evaluating ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation potential |
| Author(s): | Xiong Y; Zhou J; Xing Z; Du K; |
| Address: | "Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China. Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada. Electronic address: kddu@ucalgary.ca" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110217 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1096-0953 (Electronic) 0013-9351 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play a vital role in the formation of photochemical smog and haze in large urban environments. Previous source apportionment studies have focused on the contribution of different sources to VOC concentration with a view to pinpointing the major culprits for effective emission mitigation. However, different VOC sources may have different ozone (O(3)) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation potentials. From a control perspective, it would be more rational to consider the role of individual VOC sources in secondary pollution; therefore, here, we propose a tiered source identification method that considers the formation potentials of O(3) and SOA, which we applied in Calgary, Alberta, a site under the influence of multiple competing VOC sources. The pollution characteristics, secondary pollutant formation potential, and geographical origin of VOC sources were investigated over a five-year period. Seven major sources were identified using the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, among which vehicle exhausts and solid fuel combustion were the dominant VOC sources responsible for O(3) (60%) and SOA (63%) formation. Combustion of both liquid fuel (gasoline and diesel) and solid fuel (wood and coal) has exceeded the contribution of oil and gas production and become the top contributor to O(3) and aerosol pollution in Calgary. This finding is consistent with the significant reduction (32.2-99.8%) in oil and gas production in Calgary over the period of 2013-2017. The source apportionment results show that the primary VOC source has shifted from conventional oil and gas extraction to a mixture of vehicle exhausts and oil and gas extraction, indicating the effectiveness of emission control measures taken in the energy sectors. Moreover, regionally transported VOCs from combustion sources in southeastern British Columbia have greatly increased the VOC level and secondary pollutant formation in Calgary. To effectively alleviate secondary pollution problems, the performance of joint pollution control measures has been suggested by the governments of both Alberta and British Columbia. These findings reveal that the tiered source identification strategy combining the traditional receptor model with socioeconomic factors, emission inventory, and source region analysis is a robust and promising tool for the interpretation of source apportionment results and optimization of secondary pollution control" |
| Keywords: | Aerosols/analysis *Air Pollutants/analysis Alberta British Columbia China Environmental Monitoring *Ozone/analysis Vehicle Emissions/analysis *Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Ozone formation potential Pmf Secondary organic aerosol formation potential; |
| Notes: | "MedlineXiong, Ying Zhou, Jiabin Xing, Zhenyu Du, Ke eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Netherlands 2020/09/25 Environ Res. 2020 Dec; 191:110217. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110217. Epub 2020 Sep 22" |
