Thermal Power Industry Emissions and Their Contribution to Air Quality on the Fen-Wei Plain

Abstract

China has imposed an ultra-low emissions (ULE) standards policy regarding the emission concentrations of the thermal power industry, and the region of the Fen-Wei Plain (China), which is an important area regarding blue-sky protection, is in urgent need of accelerating the transformation of its thermal power units to conform with China’s ULE standards. Based on China’s high-resolution thermal power industry emission inventory, this study used the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with extensions (CAMX) to examine emissions from the thermal power industry and the associated impacts on the atmospheric environment of the Fen-Wei Plain. (1) Spatially, the highest emissions and the greatest air quality contributions were concentrated in the Shanxi and Henan areas, which are regions that have considerable power generation capacity. (2) In terms of species, NOX represented the largest air quality contribution and registered the smallest reduction. (3) Temporally, emission sources presented the greatest contributions in summer. (4) In terms of policy evaluation, implementation of ULE standards resulted in the reduction of the contribution of thermal power industry emissions to air quality by 56.82%, 27.44%, and 44.55% for SO2, NOX, and PM2.5, respectively. The results reflect the current levels of pollution on the Fen-Wei Plain attributable to the thermal power industry and provide insight in relation to decision-making processes regarding regional air quality management.