Emission Characteristics and Ozone Formation Potential of VOCs in Printing Enterprises in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei

Abstract

In this study, 23 typical printing enterprises were selected in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. Through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/flame ionization detection (GC-MS/FID), 46 sets of analysis results were obtained to quantitatively analyze the emissions characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the ozone generation potential of these printing enterprises. The results show that the emission concentrations of total VOCs (TVOCs) in exhaust funnels of the printing enterprises varied greatly, ranging from 3.3 mg·m-3 to 755.0 mg·m-3. In the printing stations of printing enterprises, the emission concentrations of VOCs were 129.7-958.4 mg·m-3 and 19.1-113.7 mg·m-3 in packaging and printing enterprises and publications printing enterprises, respectively. The concentration of VOCs emitted by packaging and printing enterprises was significantly higher than that of publications printing enterprises, which is related to the use of solvent-based inks. In terms of VOC composition, oxygen-containing VOCs were the primary type of those emitted by the printing station of packaging and printing enterprises and publications printing enterprises, which accounted for a ratio of 32.6%-99.4%, followed by alkanes. In terms of ozone generation potential, the average of ozone formation potential (OFP) of the printing enterprises was 505.5 mg·m-3, in which the packaging and printing enterprises was 564.1 mg·m-3, and the publication printing enterprises was 52.9 mg·m-3. The average VOC source reactivity (SR) emitted from the printing process was 1.24 g·g-1; that is, 1.24 g of O3 was formed owing to the unit mass of VOC emission, of which the packaging and printing enterprises was 1.70 g·g-1, and the publication printing enterprises was 0.89 g·g-1. According to the OFP and SR, the use of environmentally friendly ink can reduce the generation of O3 and promote air quality improvement.