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Characteristics of Atmospheric Volatile Organic Compounds and Photochemical Changes During an O3 Event in a County-Level City of Shaanxi Province, China

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Abstract

In this study, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the photochemical season in Hancheng City in 2020 were measured continuously and analyzed using models’ simulation. The characteristics, emission sources, regional hotspots, effects on ozone (O3) production, and health risks of VOCs were investigated. The results of the study showed that the high ozone period in Hancheng was chiefly restricted by VOCs. Based on the abatement scenario modeling, it was clear that reducing VOCs and NOx in a 1:3 ratio is a feasible strategy to achieve the O3 emission standard. Source analysis and spatial heterogeneity characteristics of VOCs revealed that coking production is the largest contributor to VOCs, but solvent sources dominated ozone formation. Hence, VOC control focused mainly on localized areas along the Yellow River Basin and the chemical spraying industry. Besides, more than half of the average total formation rate of O3 formation was generated by the reaction of RO2 radicals with NO. The emission of key species, such as toluene, o-xylene, styrene, 1-butene, 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene, and m/p-xylene, further aggravated photochemical O3 pollution. Therefore, an active VOC species control policy is a significant means to lessen O3 contamination.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Special Fund for Basic Scientific Research Business of Central Public Research Institute (GYZX210501: research on pollution and carbon reduction regulation technology and policy and research and development of surface coating ATP@nZVI and its repair mechanism for heavy nonaqueous liquids).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Shengxin Zhang, Lichao Tan, Keke Xu, Dandan Wang & Xinsheng Zhu

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  1. Shengxin Zhang
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  2. Lichao Tan
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Zhang, S., Tan, L., Xu, K. et al. Characteristics of Atmospheric Volatile Organic Compounds and Photochemical Changes During an O3 Event in a County-Level City of Shaanxi Province, China. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 58 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-06021-w

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