Title: | Sources-oriented contributions to ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation potential based on initial VOCs in an urban area of Eastern Asia |
Author(s): | Chen ZW; Ting YC; Huang CH; Ciou ZJ; |
Address: | "Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: dannyting@ntu.edu.tw" |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164392 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-1026 (Electronic) 0048-9697 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Over the past decades, the pollution of ozone (O(3)) and secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in the atmosphere has become a major concern worldwide due to their adverse effects on human health, air quality and climate. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are crucial precursors of O(3) and SOA, but identifying the primary sources of VOCs that contribute to the formation of O(3) and SOA has been challenging due to the rapid consumption of VOCs by oxidants in the air. To address this issue, a study was conducted in a Taipei urban area in Taiwan, where the hourly data of 54 VOC species were collected from March 2020 to February 2021 detected by Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS). The initial mixing ratios of VOCs (VOCs(ini)) were determined by combining the observed VOCs (VOCs(obs)) and the consumed VOCs resulting from photochemical reactions. Additionally, the ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFP) were estimated based on VOCs(ini). The OFP derived from VOCs(ini) (OFP(ini)) was found to exhibit a strong correlation with O(3) mixing ratios (R(2) = 0.82), whereas the OFP obtained from VOCs(obs) did not show such a correlation. Isoprene, toluene and m,p-xylene were the top three species contributing to OFP(ini), while toluene and m,p-xylene were the top two contributors to SOAFP(ini). Positive matrix factorization analysis revealed that biogenic, consumer/household products, and industrial solvents were the major contributors to OFP(ini) in four seasons, and SOAFP(ini) mostly came from consumer/household products and industrial solvents. This study highlights the importance of considering photochemical loss caused by different VOCs reactivity in the atmosphere when evaluating OFP and SOAFP. Moreover, it emphasizes the need to prioritize controlling the sources emitting the dominant VOC precursors of O(3) and SOA to effectively alleviate the scenarios of elevated O(3) and particulate matter" |
Keywords: | "Humans *Ozone/analysis *Air Pollutants/analysis *Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Environmental Monitoring/methods Asia, Eastern Aerosols/analysis Toluene/analysis Solvents/analysis China Ozone formation potential Photochemical reaction Secondary organ;" |
Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEChen, Zih-Wun Ting, Yu-Chieh Huang, Chuan-Hsiu Ciou, Zih-Jhe eng Netherlands 2023/05/28 Sci Total Environ. 2023 Sep 20; 892:164392. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164392. Epub 2023 May 25" |