Establishment and evaluation of anthropogenic black and organic carbon emissions over Central Plain, China

Abstract

The Central China represented by Henan Province is one of the most haze-polluted regions in China with high levels of black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) emissions. In this study, a 2016-based BC and OC emission inventory of Henan Province was developed based on detailed activity data and latest emission factors from different sources involving particulate matter. The total annual emissions of BC and OC were estimated to be 117.6 kt and 162.8 kt, respectively. Industrial process (44.2%) and industrial combustion (17.0%) were the top two contributors for BC emission, whereas OC emission was mainly from biomass burning (36.8%). Typical industrial cities were the major contributors to BC emission, by contrast, relatively higher OC emission was concentrated on agricultural cities in the southeast of Henan Province. The OC/BC ratios of industrial cities were generally lower than those of southeastern agricultural cities. The monthly variations presented that the highest BC and OC emissions were concentrated in January and June, respectively. Overall, in this study, the quantitative uncertainty ranges on the 95% confidence interval were approximately −30%–47% for BC and −38%–65% for OC. The emission inventory was also verified by qualitative comparison with other studies and indirect evaluation of OCpri/EC ratios, and the result was within a reasonable range. The ways of discussion and evaluation in this study can provide reference for other regions.