Trends of Full-Volatility Organic Emissions in China from 2005 to 2019 and Their Organic Aerosol Formation Potentials

Abstract

Emissions of organic compounds have strong influences on the environment. Most previous emission inventories only cover the emissions of particulate organic carbon and nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) but neglect the semivolatile and intermediate volatile organic compounds (S/IVOC), which considerably contribute to the organic aerosol (OA) burden. Herein, we developed a full-volatility emission inventory of organic compounds in China from 2005 to 2019 and analyzed the OA formation potential (OAFP) of each volatility bin and source using a two-dimensional volatility basis set (2D-VBS) box model. The emissions of low/extremely low/ultralow VOC (xLVOC) decreased substantially during 2005–2019, while the emissions of SVOC showed significant decline after 2014, mainly because of reduced residential biomass consumption. IVOC and VOC emission amounts in 2019 were similar to those in 2005; however, the major sources of emissions changed substantially. Emissions from volatile chemical products (VCP) increased significantly and became the dominant source of IVOC and VOC emissions. The S/IVOC from VCP contributed 1322 kt of OAFP in 2019, higher than the total anthropogenic xLVOC emissions. Considering the high of S/IVOC, future air pollution control policies should prioritize VCP, residential biomass burning, and diesel vehicles.