title: Concentration, ozone formation potential and source analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a thermal power station centralized area: A study in Shuozhou, China.
abstract: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from two sampling sites (HB and XB) in a power station centralized area, in Shuozhou city, China, were sampled by stainless steel canisters and measured by gas chromatography-mass selective detection/flame ionization detection (GC-MSD/FID) in the spring and autumn of 2014. The concentration of VOCs was higher in the autumn (HB, 96.87 μg/m3; XB, 58.94 μg/m3) than in the spring (HB, 41.49 μg/m3; XB, 43.46 μg/m3), as lower wind speed in the autumn could lead to pollutant accumulation, especially at HB, which is a new urban area surrounded by residential areas and a transportation hub. Alkanes were the dominant group at both HB and XB in both sampling periods, but the contribution of aromatic pollutants at HB in the autumn was much higher than that of the other alkanes (11.16-19.55%). Compared to other cities, BTEX pollution in Shuozhou was among the lowest levels in the world. Because of the high levels of aromatic pollutants, the ozone formation potential increased significantly at HB in the autumn. Using the ratio analyses to identify the age of the air masses and analyze the sources, the results showed that the atmospheric VOCs at XB were strongly influenced by the remote sources of coal combustion, while at HB in the spring and autumn were affected by the remote sources of coal combustion and local sources of vehicle emission, respectively. Source analysis conducted using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model at Shuozhou showed that coal combustion and vehicle emissions made the two largest contributions (29.98% and 21.25%, respectively) to atmospheric VOCs. With further economic restructuring, the influence of vehicle emissions on the air quality should become more significant, indicating that controlling vehicle emissions is key to reducing the air pollution.
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi Province, China. Electronic address: penglin6611@163.com.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Rumei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China.
authors.forename: Yinghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, Shanxi Province, China.
authors.forename: Huiling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bai
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D000473:Alkanes / Q000032:analysis; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D003031:Coal; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006358:Hot Temperature; D010126:Ozone / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D011210:Power Plants; D012621:Seasons; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D014919:Wind
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D000473:Alkanes; D003031:Coal; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D010126:Ozone
keywords: BTEX; Ozone formation potential; Sources analysis; Thermal power generation; Volatile organic compounds