A High Resolution Emission Inventory of Domestic Burning in Rural Region of Northeast China Based on Household Consumption

Abstract

Domestic burning emits large amounts of pollutants into the ambient air due to incomplete and inefficient combustion, with significant impacts on indoor air quality and human health. Northeast China is one of the major contributors to domestic burning emissions in China; however, the high-resolution emissions inventories of domestic biomass and coal burning in Northeast China are lacked, which are needed to estimate the extent of its impact. In this study, we established a town-level emissions inventory of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter (PM) from domestic biomass and coal burning, based on per household consumption in each town in rural region of Northeast China. The results revealed that biomass burning was the major domestic burning source over the region in 2016. Domestic biomass burning is the major contributor to PM and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions, while coal burning is the major contributor to SOP2 emissions. High emissions intensities were concentrated around the cities of Harbin, Suihua, Changchun, Qiqihar, and Chifeng, each with emissions intensity for PM2.5 and VOCs of more than 2000 Mg per 27 km × 27 km grid cell. Additionally, there are three burning peaks (6–7 am, 12 pm and 4–7 pm) during both the heating (from October to April) and non-heating seasons (from May to September), due to cooking and heating. The burning peaks in the non-heating season were more notable than those in the heating season. These results suggest that the government should pay more attention to domestic biomass and coal burning in rural areas, in order to reduce pollutant emissions and control regional haze during the heating season.