Abstract
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and its surrounding areas are one of the most polluted regions in China. Xingtai, as a heavy industrial city of BTH and its surrounding areas, has been experiencing a severe PM2.5 pollution in recent years, characterized by extremely high concentrations of PM2.5. In 2014, PM2.5 mass concentrations monitored by online instruments in urban areas of Xingtai were 116, 77, 128, and 200 µg m−3 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively, with annually average concentrations of 130 µg m−3 exhibiting 3.7 times higher than National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) value for PM2.5 (35 µg m−3). To identify PM2.5 emission sources, ambient PM2.5 samples were collected during both cold and warm periods in 2014 in urban areas of Xingtai. Organic carbon (OC), sulfate, nitrate, ammonium and elemental carbon (EC) were the dominant components of PM2.5, accounting for 13%, 11%, 12%, 11% and 8% in the cold period, respectively, and 11%, 12%, 9%, 6%, and 5% in the warm period, respectively. Source apportionment results indicated that coal combustion (24.4%) was the largest PM2.5 emission source, followed by secondary sulfate (22.2%), secondary nitrate (18.4%), vehicle exhaust dust (12.4%), fugitive dust (9.7%), construction dust (5.5%), soil dust (3.4%) and metallurgy dust (1.6%). Based on PM2.5 source apportionment results, some emission control measures, such as replacing bulk coal with clean energy sources, controlling coal consumption by coal-fired boiler upgrades, halting operations of unlicensed small polluters, and controlling fugitive and VOCs emission, were proposed to be implemented in order to improve Xingtai’s ambient air quality.
Highlights
Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) pollution has become a serious environmental problem inChina, especially PM2.5.PM2.5 is a complex mixture including both primary emissions and secondary formation, which mainly consist of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), sulphate, nitrate, ammonium, mineralAtmosphere 2019, 10, 121; doi:10.3390/atmos10030121 www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphereAtmosphere 2019, 10, 121 dust, trace element and water etc
To obtain a better understanding of the chemical composition of Xingtai’s PM2.5, identify emission sources of Xingtai’s PM2.5, and formulate subsequent emission control measures, we carried out a comprehensive investigation about mass concentrations of PM2.5, and the chemical composition of PM2.5 (OC and EC, water-soluble ions, and trace elements) for both cold and warm periods in 2014 in Xingtai
It was worth noting that regional transport influenced haze pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region [42], and in this study due to the lower wind speed, in the cold period, the slow and near-ground air masses originating from Shijiazhuang and Handan could have resulted in stagnant conditions, under which precursors from local emissions and those transported in could constitute a significant contribution to Xingtai’s ambient PM2.5
Summary
Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) pollution has become a serious environmental problem in. In 2013, MEP accelerates PM2.5 source apportionment to support policy making for air pollution prevention and control in China. Xingtai’s Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) started the project of PM2.5 source apportionment in order to effectively protect public health and implement emission reduction measures. To obtain a better understanding of the chemical composition of Xingtai’s PM2.5 , identify emission sources of Xingtai’s PM2.5 , and formulate subsequent emission control measures, we carried out a comprehensive investigation about mass concentrations of PM2.5 (both on-line and off-line data), and the chemical composition of PM2.5 (OC and EC, water-soluble ions, and trace elements) for both cold and warm periods in 2014 in Xingtai. Based on source apportionment results, corresponding emission control measures were proposed for improving Xingtai’s air quality
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