Dominant contribution of combustion-related ammonium during haze pollution in Beijing

Abstract

Aerosol ammonium (NH4+), mainly produced from the reactions of ammonia (NH3) with acids in the atmosphere, has significant impacts on air pollution, radiative forcing, and human health. Understanding the source and formation mechanism of NH4+ can provide scientific insights into air quality improvements. However, the sources of NH3 in urban areas are not well understood, and few studies focus on NH3/NH4+ at different heights within the atmospheric boundary layer, which hinders a comprehensive understanding of aerosol NH4+. In this study, we perform both field observation and modeling studies (the Community Multiscale Air Quality, CMAQ) to investigate regional NH3 emission sources and vertically resolved NH4+ formation mechanisms during the winter in Beijing. Both stable nitrogen isotope analyses and CMAQ model suggest that combustion-related NH3 emissions, including fossil fuel sources, NH3 slip, and biomass burning, are important sources of aerosol NH4+ with more than 60% contribution occurring on heavily polluted days. In contrast, volatilization-related NH3 sources (livestock breeding, N-fertilizer application, and human waste) are dominant on clean days. Combustion-related NH3 is mostly local from Beijing, and biomass burning is likely an important NH3 source (∼15%–20%) that was previously overlooked. More effective control strategies such as the two-product (e.g., reducing both SO2 and NH3) control policy should be considered to improve air quality.