Winter In Beijing Research Articles

The characteristics of brown carbon aerosol during winter in Beijing

Abstract Brown carbon (i.e., light-absorbing organic carbon, or BrC) exerts important effects on the environment and on climate in particular. Based on spectrophotometric absorption measurements on extracts of bulk aerosol samples, this study investigated the characteristics of BrC during winter in Beijing, China. Organic compounds extractable by methanol contributed approximately 85% to the organic carbon (OC) mass. Light absorption by the methanol extracts exhibited a strong wavelength dependence, with an average absorption Angstrom exponent of 7.10 (fitted between 310 and 450 nm). Normalizing the absorption coefficient ( b abs ) measured at 365 nm to the extractable OC mass yielded an average mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of 1.45 m 2 /g for the methanol extracts. This study suggests that light absorption by BrC could be comparable with black carbon in the spectral range of near-ultraviolet light. Our results also indicate that BrC absorption and thus BrC radiative forcing could be largely underestimated when using water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) as a surrogate for BrC. Compared to previous work relying only on WSOC, this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of BrC aerosol based on methanol extraction.

Characteristics of aerosol size distributions and chemical compositions during wintertime pollution episodes in Beijing

To characterize the features of particle pollution, continuous measurements of particle number size distributions and chemical compositions were performed at an urban site in Beijing in January 2013. The particle number and volume concentration from 14nm to 1000nm were (37.4±15.3)×103cm−3 and (85.2±65.6)μm3cm−3, respectively. N-Ait (Aitken mode) particles dominated the number concentration, whereas N-Acc (accumulation mode) particles dominated the volume concentration. Submicron particles were generally characterized by a high content of organics and SO42−, and a low level of NO3− and Cl−. Two types of pollution episodes were observed, characterized by the “explosive growth” (EXP) and “sustained growth” (SUS) of PM2.5. Fine particles greater than 100nm dominated the volume concentration during the ends of these pollution episodes, shifting the maximum of the number size distribution from 60nm to greater than 100nm in a few hours (EXP) or a few days (SUS). Secondary transformation is the main reason for the pollution episodes; SO42−, NO3− and NH4+ (SNA) accounted for approximately 42% (EXP) and greater than 60% (SUS) of the N-Acc particle mass increase. The size distributions of particulate organics and SNA varied on timescales of hours to days, the characteristics of which changed from bimodal to unimodal during the evolution of haze episodes. The accumulation mode (peaking at approximately 500–700nm) was dominated by organics that appeared to be internally mixed with nitrate or sulfate. The sulfate was most likely formed via heterogeneous reactions, because the SOR was constant under dry conditions (RH<50%) and began to increase when RH>50%, suggesting an important contribution from heterogeneous reactions with abundant aerosol water under wet conditions. Finally, the correlations between [NO3−]/[SO42−] and [NH4+]/[SO42−] suggest that the homogenous reaction between HNO3 and NH3 dominated the formation of nitrate under conditions of lower aerosol acidity. Therefore, controlling the precursors of SNA will effectively help to reduce the fine particulate pollution during winter in Beijing.

Chemical characteristics and light-absorbing property of water-soluble organic carbon in Beijing: Biomass burning contributions

Emissions from biomass burning contribute significantly to water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and light-absorbing organic carbon (brown carbon). Ambient atmospheric samples were collected at an urban site in Beijing during winter and summer, along with source samples from residential crop straw burning. Carbonaceous aerosol species, including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), WSOC and multiple saccharides as well as water-soluble potassium (K+) in PM2.5 (fine particulate matter with size less than 2.5 μm) were measured. Chemical signatures of atmospheric aerosols in Beijing during winter and summer days with significant biomass burning influence were identified. Meanwhile, light absorption by WSOC was measured and quantitatively compared to EC at ground level. The results from this study indicated that levoglucosan exhibited consistently high concentrations (209 ± 145 ng m−3) in winter. Ratios of levoglucosan/mannosan (L/M) and levoglucosan/galacosan (L/G) indicated that residential biofuel use is an important source of biomass burning aerosol in winter in Beijing. Light absorption coefficient per unit ambient WSOC mass calculated at 365 nm is approximately 1.54 ± 0.16 m2 g−1 in winter and 0.73 ± 0.15 m2 g−1 in summer. Biomass burning derived WSOC accounted for 23 ± 7% and 16 ± 7% of total WSOC mass, and contributed to 17 ± 4% and 19 ± 5% of total WSOC light absorption in winter and summer, respectively. It is noteworthy that, up to 30% of total WSOC light absorption was attributed to biomass burning in significant biomass-burning-impacted summer day. Near-surface light absorption (over the range 300–400 nm) by WSOC was about ∼40% of that by EC in winter and ∼25% in summer.

Coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) for municipal heating in China: analysis of haze pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions

Municipal heating by coal contributes considerably to the haze pollution in Chinese cities during cold period, e.g., Beijing 53%. It is widely considered that, as a supplement of natural gas, the use of coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) to replace coal for municipal heating is conductive to mitigate the haze pollution in metropolitan areas. Would it still be a good alternative if the whole life cycle of SNG were taken into consideration? In this study, SNG as an alternative for municipal heating is analyzed in comparison with coal. To target cleaner production, life cycle assessment methodology is used to analyze SNG contribution to haze pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, as well as energy consumption. Compared to coal heating route, SNG heating route could reduce 44% of the haze pollutants emissions from life cycle perspective and up to 98% of the emissions in urban area. Thus, if municipal heating were entirely supplied by natural gas and SNG, there would be 52% less haze pollutants emissions in winter of Beijing. However, this “good” performance is at the cost of transferring haze pollutants emissions from urban areas to SNG-producing regions. It is also at the cost of consuming 90% more coal and emitting 65% more GHGs than the coal heating route from life cycle point of view. To tackle the problems of haze pollutants transfer and the increase of GHGs emissions, the paper suggests implementing ecological compensation and carbon tax policies in the coal-based SNG industry.

Characteristics of heavy aerosol pollution during the 2012–2013 winter in Beijing, China

A comprehensive measurement was carried out to analyze the heavy haze events during 2012–2013 winter in Beijing. The measured variables include some important meteorological parameters, such wind directions, wind speeds, relative humidity (RH), planetary boundary layer (PBL), solar radiation, and visibility. The aerosol composition and concentrations (including particular matters (PM2.5), nitrate (NO3), sulfate (SO4), ammonium (NH4)) as well as their gas-phase precursors (including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2)) were analyzed during the period between Nov. 16, 2012 and Jan. 15, 2013. The results show that the hourly mean concentrations of PM2.5 often exceeded 200 μg/m3, with a maximum concentration of 600 μg/m3 on Jan. 13, 2013. The relative humidity was increased during the haze events, indicating that both aerosol concentrations and RH had important effect on the reduction of visibility, causing the occurrence of the haze events. Because the wind speeds were generally low (less than 1 m/s) during the haze event, the vertical dispersion and the PBL heights were very important factors for causing the strong variability of aerosol concentrations. This study also finds that under the lower visibility condition, the conversion from the gas-phase of NOx and SO2 to the particle phase of NO3 and SO4 were higher than the values under the higher visibility condition. Because the lower visibility condition was corresponding to the lower photochemical activity than the higher visibility condition, the higher conversion from gas phase to particle phase in the lower visibility condition indicated that there was important heterogeneous formation of NO3 and SO4 during the heavy haze events.

Roadside, Urban, and Rural comparison of size distribution characteristics of PAHs and carbonaceous components of Beijing, China

Size-segregated aerosol samples were collected with a low-pressure impactor (LPI) at urban, roadside and rural sites in winter in Beijing. The size distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were measured and this study focused on their size distributions and relationships of PAH to OC/EC. All PAHs show uni-modal at the accumulation mode (0.1–1.8 μm) and almost all PAHs are associated with fine particles. The absence of PAHs in the nucleus mode contributes to the coagulation under the condition of high concentration of the accumulation mode particles. The absence of PAHs in the coarse mode was probably attributed to the low temperature that restrained the redistribution of PAHs from the accumulation mode to the coarse mode. Flu(fluoranthene) and Pyr(pyrene, 4-ring) were the most abundant particulate PAHs ; however, IcdP(indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene) and BghiP(benzo[ghi]perylene, 6-ring) were rather low. Diagnostic ratios show vehicle and coal burning were the major sources of PAHs in winter. Ratios at rural site are obviously different from those found at roadside and urban sites. Lower value of OC/EC in the rural area than that in the urban area was probably resulted from coal burning prevailed in the rural area. OC1 and OC2 exhibit uni-mode distribution similar to their particle surface area distribution indicating their existence on particles by adsorption. OC3 and OC4 show bi-mode distribution. Grinding of biomass debris can be a probable source of OC3 and OC4 in the coarse mode. EC1 is mostly from the pyrolysis of OC; however, both the natural and anthropogenic emissions contribute to EC2. The correlation between size-segregated PAHs and carbonaceous component is also discussed to identify their sources.

Gaseous pollutants in Beijing urban area during the heating period 2007–2008: variability, sources, meteorological, and chemical impacts

Abstract. Gaseous pollutants, NOy/NOx, SO2, CO, and O3, were measured at an urban site in Beijing from 17 November 2007 to 15 March 2008. The average concentrations (with ± 1σ) of NO, NO2, NOx, NOy, CO, SO2, and O3 were 29.0 ± 2.7 ppb, 33.7 ± 1.4 ppb, 62.7 ± 4.0 ppb, 72.8 ± 4.5 ppb, 1.99 ± 0.13 ppm, 31.9 ± 2.0 ppb, and 11.9 ± 0.8 ppb, respectively, with hourly maxima of 200.7 ppb, 113.5 ppb, 303.9 ppb, 323.2 ppb, 15.06 ppm, 147.3 ppb, and 69.7 ppb, respectively. The concentrations of the pollutants show "saw-toothed" patterns, which are attributable mainly to changes in wind direction and speed. The frequency distributions of the hourly mean concentrations of NOy, SO2, CO, and O3 can all be decomposed in the two Lorentz curves, with their peak concentrations representing background levels under different conditions. During the observation period, the average ratio NOx/NOy was 0.86 ± 0.10, suggesting that the gaseous pollutants in Beijing in winter are mainly from local emissions. Data of O3, NOz, and NOx/NOy indicate that photochemistry can take place in Beijing even in the cold winter period. Based on the measurements of O3, NOx, and NOy, ozone production efficiency (OPE) is estimated to be in the range of 0–8.9 (ppb ppb−1) with the mean(± 1σ) and median values being 1.1(± 1.6) and 0.5 (ppb ppb−1), respectively, for the winter 2007–2008 in Beijing. This low OPE would cause a photochemical O3 source of 5 ppb day−1, which is small but significant for surface O3 in winter in Beijing. Downward transport of O3-rich air from the free troposphere is the more important factor for the enhancement of the O3 level in the surface layer, while high NO level for the destruction of O3. The concentrations of SO2, CO, and NOx are strongly correlated among each other, indicating that they are emitted by some common sources. Multiple linear regression analysis is applied to the concentrations of NOy, SO2, and CO and empirical equations are obtained for the NOy concentration. Based the equations, the relative contributions from mobile and point sources to NOy is estimated to be 66 ± 30 % and 40 ± 16 %, respectively, suggesting that even in the heating period, mobile sources in Beijing contribute more to NOy than point sources.

Field study of human thermal comfort and thermal adaptability during the summer and winter in Beijing

This study was conducted during the summer and winter in Beijing. Classrooms and offices in a university were used to conduct the survey. The respondents’ thermal sensation and thermal adaptability in both seasons were analyzed. During the study, indoor environmental parameters including air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity were measured. The respondents’ thermal sensation was determined by questionnaire. A relationship between indoor temperature and thermal sensation was found. In the summer study, the “scissors difference” between TSV and PMV was observed in the air-conditioned environments if the temperature was out of the neutral zone. People had higher tolerance in the hot environment than PMV predicted. During winter, the outdoor temperature had a prominent influence on thermal adaptability. The low outdoor temperature made people adapt to the cold environment. When the indoor temperature was heated to a high temperature by space heating facilities, respondents felt uncomfortable since their adaptability to the cold environment was nullified. Furthermore, the differences in thermal responses between respondents from North and South China showed that the different climates of people's native regions also affected their thermal comfort and adaptability.

All-glass vacuum tube collector heat transfer model used in forced-circulation solar water heating system

The aim of this paper is to establish the heat transfer model of all-glass vacuum tube collector used in forced-circulation solar water heating system. In this model, the simplified heat transfer of collector is composed of the natural convection in single glass tube and forced flow in manifold header. Thus the heat balance equation of water in single tube and the heat balance equation of water in manifold header have been established. The flow equation is also built by analyzing the friction and buoyancy in tube. Through solved these equations the relationship between the collector average temperature, the outlet temperature and natural convection flow rate have been obtained. From this relationship and energy balance equation of collector, the collector outlet temperature can be calculated. The validated experiments of this model were carried out in winter of Beijing.

Vertical distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric boundary layer of Beijing in winter

Air samples were collected using active samplers at various heights of 8, 15, 32, 47, 65, 80, 102, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 240, 280 and 320 m on a meteorological tower in an urban area of Beijing in two campaigns in winter 2006. Altitudinal distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric boundary layer of Beijing in winter season were investigated. Meteorological conditions during the studied period were characterized by online measurements of four meteorological parameters as well as trajectory calculation. The mean total concentrations of 15 PAHs except naphthalene of gaseous and particulate phase were 667±450 and 331±144 ng m −3 in January and 61±19 and 29±6 ng m −3 in March, respectively. Domestic coal combustion and vehicle emission were the dominant PAH sources in winter. Although the composition profiles derived from the two campaigns were similar, the concentrations were different by one order of magnitude. The higher concentrations in January were partly caused by higher emission due to colder weather than March. Moreover, weak wind, passing through the city center before the sampling site, picked up more contaminants on the way and provided unfavorable dispersion condition in January. For both campaigns, PAH concentrations decreased with heights because of ground-level emission and unfavorable dispersion conditions in winter. The concentration ratio of PAHs in gas versus solid phases was temperature dependent and negatively correlated to their octanol–air partition coefficients.

Inhalation exposure of traffic police officers to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the winter in Beijing, China

This study concerns the use of personal samplers to evaluate the exposure of traffic police to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the winter of 2005 in Beijing. We measured the samples collected for gas and particulate phases PAHs with the same technique used for an earlier study during the summer of 2004, and evaluated exposure risk based on the calculated benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentrations (BaP(eq)) of both summer and winter. The mean exposure concentrations of gaseous and particulate phase PAHs in the winter are 4300+/-2900 ng/m(3) and 750+/-1000 ng/m(3), respectively, significantly higher than those measured simultaneously at control sites and also considerably higher than the values measured during the summer. The exposure PAH profiles for police and the control subjects are similar with predominant naphthalene in gaseous phase and dominant fluoranthene, pyrene, anthracene and naphthalene in particulate phase. Large daily variations occur both in summer and winter, because of the changes in the weather conditions especially wind speed and relative humidity which tend to disperse and scavenge PAHs in air. In the winter, the average BaP(eq) value for traffic police is 82.1 ng/m(3), which is significantly higher than those for the control subjects and the national standard of 10 ng/m(3) for ambient air. Particulate phase PAHs contribute more than 90% of the total exposure risk in the winter. Annually, weighted-average probabilities of exceeding the national standard (10 ng/m(3)) are 69.3% and 20.6% for the police and the controls, respectively.

Performance of a hybrid heating system with thermal storage using shape-stabilized phase-change material plates

Performance of a hybrid heating-system, combined with thermal storage using shape-stabilized phase-change material (SSPCM) plates, is investigated numerically. A direct gain passive solar house in Beijing is considered, which includes SSPCM plates as the inner linings of walls and the ceiling. Unsteady simulation is performed using a verified enthalpy model, with a time period covering the winter heating-season. Additional heat supply is employed during load hours at late night and early morning (23:00–07:00 in Beijing) or during the whole day necessary to keep the minimum indoor air temperature above 18 °C. The results indicate the thermal storage effect of SSPCM plates, which improves the indoor thermal comfort level and saves about 47% of normal-and-peak-hour energy use and 12% of total energy consumption in winter in Beijing.

Diurnal variation of number concentration and size distribution of ultrafine particles in the urban atmosphere of Beijing in winter

Abstract Number concentration and distribution of airborne particles in the size range 5.6 to 560 nm diameter were measured in Beijing for a 15-d period in winter 2005. Daily average number concentrations of nucleation mode (5.6–20 nm), Aitken mode (20–100 nm), and accumulation mode (100–560 nm) particles, and total particles were 17500, 32000, 4000, and 53500 cm −3, respectively. Average particle size distribution was monomodal with a mode diameter of about 40 nm at night and bimodal with mode diameters of about 10 and about 40 nm during the daytime. New particle formation events, which were connected to diurnal variation of nucleation mode particles, were observed in more than half of the observation days. The events often started around 10:00–11:00 Chinese Standard Time (CST) and ended up after 3–4 h. Concentrations of Aitken and accumulation mode particles increased from midnight and reached their maxima at about 10:00 CST, and then decreased and became the lowest in the afternoon. Analysis of diurnal cycles in traffic volume and meteorological parameters revealed that the accumulation of the particles in Aitken and accumulation modes in the morning was influenced by formation of an inversion and increase in vehicle emission, and dispersion of such particles in the afternoon was associated with more effective vertical mixing and higher wind speed.

Spatial structure and scale feature of the atmospheric pollution source impact of city agglomeration

The spatial structure and multi-scale feature of the atmospheric pollution influence domain of Beijing and its peripheral areas (a rapidly developed city agglomeration) is dissected and analyzed in this paper on the basis of the atmospheric pollution dynamic-chemical process observation data of the urban building ensemble boundary layer of the Beijing City Air Pollution Observation Experiment (BECAPEX) in winter (February) and summer (August) 2003, and relevant meteorological elements and satellite retrieval aerosol optical depth (AOD), etc. com- prehensive data with the dynamic-statistical integrated analysis of “point-surface” spatial struc- ture. Results show that there existed significant difference in the contribution of winter/summer different pollution emission sources to the component character of atmospheric pollution, and the principal component analysis (PCA) results of statistical model also indicate that SO 2 and NO X dominated in the component structure of winter aerosol particle; instead, CO and NO X dominated in summer. Surface layer atmospheric dynamic and thermal structures and various pollutant species at the upper boundary of building ensembles at urban different observational sites of Beijing in winter and summer showed an “in-phase” variation and its spatial scale feature of “in- fluence domain”. The power spectrum analysis (PSA) shows that the period spectrum of win- ter/summer particle concentration accorded with those of atmospheric wind field: the longer pe- riod was dominative in winter, but the shorter period in summer, revealing the impact of the seasonal scale feature of winter/summer atmospheric general circulation on the period of at- mospheric pollution variations. It is found that from analyzing urban area thermal heterogeneity that the multi-scale effect of Beijing region urban heat island (UHI) was associated with the het- erogeneous expansion of tall buildings area. In urban atmospheric dynamical and thermal char- acteristic spatial structures, the turbulent scale feature of the urban boundary layer (UBL) of ar- chitectural complexes had important impact on the multi-scale feature of urban atmospheric pollution. The comprehensive analyses of the variational analysis field of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) AOD-surface PM10 under the condition of clear sky and the correlation resultant wind vector field for pollution source-tracing suggest that the emission sources for winter Beijing atmospheric pollution aerosols particle might be remotely traced to the south peripheral greater-scale spatial range of Hebei, Shandong, Tianjin, etc., and the spatial distribution of the high value area of AOD was associated with that of the high value area of resident family number (heating surface source). The backward trajectory feature of winter/ summer air particles exhibits analogous multi-scale feature, and depicts the difference in the scale feature of the pollution sources spatial distribution in different seasons. The peripheral source trajectory paths of urban atmospheric pollution (UAP) mainly come from the fixed indus- trial surface source or heating surface source in the outskirt of Beijing, and the diffusion and transport distance of peripheral sources in winter is larger than one in summer. The above con- clusions depict the multi-scale spatial influence domain and seasonal features caused by UAP source influence and atmospheric dynamical structure. The high value area of the winter Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) AOD lay in the Beijing region and its south peripheral area, an S-N zonal pattern, which reflects the dynamical effect of peripheral topographic pattern on the diffusion of regional scale atmospheric pollution sources. Study suggests that the extent of winter atmospheric pollution within the “valley” megarelief in Beijing and periphery was close related with the pollution emission sources of the south peripheral area; and the significant “anti-phase” variation feature of winter AOD and sunshine duration in Beijing and its peripheral areas, and the regional scale correlation of low cloud cover, fog days, and aerosols reflects the local climatic effect of aerosol influence in this region. Besides, analysis of the impacts of at- mospheric dry/wet deposition distributions within a valley-scale on the regional water body of Miyun reservoir also reveals the possible influence of the multi-scale spatial structure of summer water, soil and atmospheric pollution sources on the water quality of Miyun reservoir.

Experimental investigation of air-source heat pump for cold regions

Great advancements have been made in air source heat pumps (ASHP) due to concerns for water and consciousness of sustainable development; however there is still a serious shortcoming that limits their widespread applications, especially in sub-zero regions. This article proposes a new sub-cooling system employing a scroll compressor with a supplementary inlet which can effectively solve these problems. The prototype ASHP was validated and ran a whole winter in Beijing, China. The relevant dynamic-performance functions were tested and the outcomes show that this new kind of ASHP can work very well under ambient temperatures as low as −15 °C. In addition, the efficiency of the improved ASHP under all circumstances was addressed and great energy can be saved through the improved system's increased efficiency. In this way the applications of ASHP were enlarged and a simple and feasible alternative heating service was developed for heating in north China which can also partly solve the severer and severer atmosphere pollution problems in these regions.

Determination of concentrations of elements in the atmospheric aerosol of the urban and rural areas of Beijing in winter.

The proton-induced X-ray emission technique is one of the most suitable methods in the study of the multielement content of atmospheric aerosols. Atmospheric aerosol samples were collected in winter using an eight-stage cascade impactor at a site of the urban center and a rural site of Beijing. The aerosol samples collected were analyzed to determine maximum, minimum, and average concentrations of up to 20 elements and the ratios of the average element concentrations for the coarse to fine particles (C/F) by the PIXE technique. It has been found that the average elemental concentrations in the urban center are higher than those in the rural area, except S and Br. The concentrations for S and Pb in the atmospheric aerosols are found to be less than the results of previous measurement, but their concentrations in the fine particles increased in winter in the samples from the urban center. The deposition probability of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) mode and the mass particle-size distributions of the elements determined in the urban center have been utilized to evaluate inhalable particulate matter fractions retained in the three regions of one's respiratory tract and their harm to human health is discussed.

Assessment of sulfur dioxide in course of fumigation in Beijing area

The fumigation process often results in serious part air pollution on the certain weather condition during winter in Beijing. This paper presents the pollution level of fumigation and discusses on how to use the fumigation model and on the pollution of sulfur dioxide combined with particles based on the environmental impact assessment of a residential quarter in Beijing. The maximum measuring ground level concentration of sulfur dioxide was about 0.9 mg m‐3, it is nearly two times as high as allowed concentration by the national environmental standard ‐ ‘Ambient Air Quality’.