Progressively narrow the gap of PM_(2.5) pollution characteristics at urban and suburban sites in a megacity of Sichuan Basin, China

Nowadays,the fine particle pollution is still severe in some megacities of China,especially in the Sichuan Basin,southwestern China.In order to understand the causes,sources,and impacts of fine particles,we collected PM_(2.5)samples and analyzed their chemical composition in typical months from July 2018 to May 2019 at an urban and a suburban (background) site of Chengdu,a megacity in this region.The daily average concentrations of PM_(2.5)ranged from5.6-102.3μg/m^(3)and 4.3-110.4μg/m^(3)at each site.Secondary inorganics and organic matters were the major components in PM_(2.5)at both sites.The proportion of nitrate in PM_(2.5)has exceeded sulfate and become the primary inorganic component.SO_(2)was easier to transform into sulfate in urban areas because of Mn-catalytic heterogeneous reactions.In contrast,NO_(2)was easily converted in suburbs with high aerosol water content.Furthermore,organic carbon in urban was much greater than that in rural,other than elemental carbon.Element Cr and As were the key cancer risk drivers.The main sources of PM_(2.5)in urban and suburban areas were all secondary aerosols (42.9%,32.1%),combustion (16.0%,25.2%) and vehicle emission (15.2%,19.2%).From clean period to pollution period,the contributions from combustion and secondary aerosols increased markedly.In addition to tightening vehicle controls,urban areas need to restrict emissions from steel smelters,and suburbs need to minimize coal and biomass combustion in autumn and winter.

Biogenic volatile organic compound emission patterns and secondary pollutant formation potentials of dominant greening trees in Chengdu,southwest China

Integral to the urban ecosystem,greening trees provide many ecological benefits,but the active biogenic volatile organic compounds(BVOCs)they release contribute to the production of ozone and secondary organic aerosols,which harm ambient air quality.It is,therefore,necessary to understand the BVOC emission characteristics of dominant greening tree species and their relative contribution to secondary pollutants in various urban contexts.Consequently,this study utilized a dynamic enclosure system to collect BVOC samples of seven dominant greening tree species in urban Chengdu,Southwest China.Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to analyze the BVOC components and standardized BVOC emission rates of each tree species were then calculated to assess their relative potential to form secondary pollutants.We found obvious differences in the composition of BVOCs emitted by each species.Ficus virens displayed a high isoprene emission rate at31.472μgC/(gdw(g dry weight)·hr),while Cinnamomum camphora emitted high volumes of D-Limonene at 93.574μgC/(gdw·hr).In terms of the BVOC emission rates by leaf area,C.camphora had the highest emission rate of total BVOCs at 13,782.59μgC/(m^(2)·hr),followed by Cedrus deodara with 5466.86μgC/(m^(2)·hr).Ginkgo biloba and Osmanthus fragrans mainly emitted oxygenated VOCs with lower overall emission rates.The high BVOC emitters like F.virens,C.camphora,and Magnolia grandiflora have high potential for significantly contributing to environmental secondary pollutants,so should be cautiously considered for future planting.This study provides important implications for improving urban greening efforts for subtropical Chinese urban contexts,like Chengdu.

Characteristics of ambient volatile organic compounds during spring O_(3) pollution episode in Chengdu,China

Surface ozone(O_(3))has become a critical pollutant impeding air quality improvement in many Chinese megacities.Chengdu is a megacity located in Sichuan Basin in southwest China,where O_(3)pollution occurs frequently in both spring and summer.In order to understand the elevated O_(3)during spring in Chengdu,we conducted sampling campaign at three sites during O_(3)pollution episodes in April.Volatile organic compounds(VOCs)compositions at each site were similar,and oxygenated VOCs(OVOCs)concentrations accounted for the highest proportion(35%-45%),followed by alkanes,alkens(including acetylene),halohydrocarbons,and aromatics.The sensitivity of O_(3)to its precursors was analyzed using an observation based box model.The relative incremental reactivity of OVOCs was larger than other precursors,suggesting that they also played the dominant role in O_(3)formation.Furthermore,the positive matrix factorization model was used to identify the dominant emission sources and to evaluate their contribution to VOCs in the city.The main sources of VOCs in spring were from combustion(27.75%),industrial manufacturing(24.17%),vehicle exhaust(20.35%),and solvent utilization(18.35%).Discussions on VOCs and NO_(x)reduction schemes suggested that Chengdu was typical in the VOC-limited regime,and VOC emission reduction would help to prevent and control O_(3).The analysis of emission reduction scenarios based on VOCs sources showed that the emission reduction ratio of VOCs to NO_(2)needs to reach more than 3 in order to achieve O_(3)prevention.Emission reduction from vehicular exhaust source and solvent utilization source may be more effective.