Aqueous production of secondary organic aerosol from fossil-fuel emissions in winter Beijing haze
- 15 February 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 118 (8)
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2022179118
Abstract
Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced by atmospheric oxidation of primary emitted precursors is a major contributor to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution worldwide. Observations during winter haze pollution episodes in urban China show that most of this SOA originates from fossil-fuel combustion but the chemical mechanisms involved are unclear. Here we report field observations in a Beijing winter haze event that reveal fast aqueous-phase conversion of fossil-fuel primary organic aerosol (POA) to SOA at high relative humidity. Analyses of aerosol mass spectra and elemental ratios indicate that ring-breaking oxidation of POA aromatic species, leading to functionalization as carbonyls and carboxylic acids, may serve as the dominant mechanism for this SOA formation. A POA origin for SOA could explain why SOA has been decreasing over the 2013–2018 period in response to POA emission controls even as emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have remained flat.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (91544220)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (21777073)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (91744207)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (42021004)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (41875167)
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFC0213802)
This publication has 59 references indexed in Scilit:
- Ambient black carbon particle hygroscopic properties controlled by mixing state and compositionAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2013
- Understanding atmospheric organic aerosols via factor analysis of aerosol mass spectrometry: a reviewAnalytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2011
- Changes in organic aerosol composition with aging inferred from aerosol mass spectraAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2011
- Insights into secondary organic aerosol formed via aqueous-phase reactions of phenolic compounds based on high resolution mass spectrometryAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2010
- A simplified description of the evolution of organic aerosol composition in the atmosphereGeophysical Research Letters, 2010
- Chemical Composition of Gas- and Aerosol-Phase Products from the Photooxidation of NaphthaleneThe Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2009
- Secondary organic aerosol formation from photooxidation of naphthalene and alkylnaphthalenes: implications for oxidation of intermediate volatility organic compounds (IVOCs)Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2009
- Variability in morphology, hygroscopicity, and optical properties of soot aerosols during atmospheric processingProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008
- Ubiquity and dominance of oxygenated species in organic aerosols in anthropogenically‐influenced Northern Hemisphere midlatitudesGeophysical Research Letters, 2007
- Detection of particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Mexico City using an aerosol mass spectrometerInternational Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 2007