Seasonal and Spatial Variation of Volatile Organic Compounds in Ambient Air of Almaty City, Kazakhstan

Olga P Ibragimova,Nassiba Baimatova,Bauyrzhan Bukenov,Aray Zhakupbekova,Anara Omarova

doi:10.3390/atmos12121592

Olga P Ibragimova, Nassiba Baimatova + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12121592

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Journal: Atmosphere	Publication Date: Nov 29, 2021
Citations: 8	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Abstract

Air pollution is one of the primary sources of risk to human health in the world. In this study, seasonal and spatial variations of multiple volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at six sampling sites in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The seasonal and spatial variations of 19 VOCs were evaluated in 2020, including the periods before and after COVID-19 lockdown. The concentrations of 9 out of 19 VOCs had been changed significantly (p < 0.01) during 2020. The maximum concentrations of total VOCs (TVOCs) were observed on 15, 17, and 19 January and ranged from 233 to 420 µg m−3. The spatial distribution of TVOCs concentrations in the air during sampling seasons correlated with the elevation and increased from southern to northern part of Almaty, where Combined Heat and Power Plants are located. The sources of air pollution by VOCs were studied by correlations analysis and BTEX ratios. The ranges of toluene to benzene ratio and benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene demonstrated two primary sources of BTEX in 2020: traffic emissions and biomass/biofuel/coal burning. Most of m-, p-xylenes to ethylbenzene ratios in this study were lower than 3 in all sampling periods, evidencing the presence of aged air masses at studied sampling sites from remote sources.

Highlights

Air pollution leads to a disturbance of the ecosystem and substantial economic and social damages
Similar seasonal variations were obtained by Liu et al [327], owf h15o proposed that the primary source of benzaldehyde is vehicle emissions
3 May) in spring were used for evaluating the effect of the heating season and COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in Almaty on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions

Summary

Introduction

Air pollution leads to a disturbance of the ecosystem and substantial economic and social damages. In 2020, Kazakhstan was ranked as the 32nd most polluted country in the world, with an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 21.9 μg m−3 [1]. Exceeding concentrations of PM2.5 caused about 8134 premature deaths of adults annually in 2015–2017 in 21 cities of Kazakhstan [2]. Almaty, the former capital and the largest (2 million people) [3] city of Kazakhstan, is located in the center of the Eurasian continental area at the foot of the Trans-Ili Alatau Mountains, with a continental climate covering 700 km. The geographical location of the city and air movements from the mountains can cause temperature inversion, which may affect the pollution dispersion. The number of registered passenger cars of Almaty is about 467 thousand, with additional vehicles from suburban areas of the city [5]

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