Preparation of hydrophobic hierarchical pore carbon–silica composite and its adsorption performance toward volatile organic compounds

Carbon–silica materials with hierarchical pores consisting of micropores and mesopores were prepared by introducing nanocarbon microspheres derived from biomass sugar into silica gel channels in a hydrothermal environment.The physicochemical properties of the materials were characterized by nitrogen physical adsorption(BET),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and thermogravimetric(TG),and the adsorption properties of various organic waste gases were investigated.The results showed that microporous...     

Vertical distribution of volatile organic compounds conducted by tethered balloon in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China

Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) as precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosols can cause adverse effects on the environment and human health.However,knowledge of the VOC vertical profile in the lower troposphere of major Chinese cities is poorly understood.In this study,tethered balloon flights were conducted over the juncture of BeijingTianjin-Hebei in China during the winter of 2016.Thirty-six vertical air samples were collected on selected heavy and light pollution days at altitudes o...     

Volatile organic compounds concentration profiles and control strategy in container manufacturing industry: Case studies in China

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), important precursors of ozone (O₃) and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), are the key to curb the momentum of O₃ growth and further reducing PM_2.5 in China. Container manufacturing industry is one of the major VOC emitters, and more than 96% containers of the world are produced in China, with the annual usage of coatings of over 200,000 tons in recent years. This is the first research on the emission characteristics of VOCs in Chinese container manufacturing industry, including concentration and ozone formation potential (OFP) of each species. The result shows that the largest amounts of VOCs are emitted during the pretreatment process, followed by the paint mixing process and primer painting process, and finally other sprays process. The average VOC concentrations in the workshops, the exhausts before treatment and the exhausts after treatment are ranging from 82.67–797.46 , 170–1,812.65 , 66.20–349.63 mg/m³, respectively. Benzenes, alcohols and ethers are main species, which contribute more than 90% OFP together. Based on the emission characteristics of VOCs and the technical feasibility, it is recommended to set the emission limit in standard of benzene to 1.0 mg/m³, toluene to 10 mg/m³, xylene to 20 mg/m³, benzenes to 40 mg/m³, alcohols and ethers to 50 mg/m³, and VOCs to 100 mg/m³. The study reports the industry emission characteristics and discusses the standard limits, which is a powerful support to promote VOCs emission reduction, and to promote the coordinated control of PM_2.5 and O₃ pollution.     

Biogenic volatile organic compound emissions from leaves and fruits of apple and peach trees during fruit development

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are widely involved in a variety of atmospheric chemical processes due to their high reactivity and species diversity. To date, however, research on BVOCs in agroecosystems, particularly fruit trees, remains scarce despite their large cultivation area and economic interest. BVOC emissions from different organs (leaf or fruit) of apple and peach trees were investigated throughout the stages of fruit development (FS, fruit swelling; FC, fruit coloration; FM, fruit maturity; and FP, fruit postharvest) using a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer. Results indicated that methanol was the most abundant compound emitted by the leaf (apple tree leaf 492.5 ± 47.9 ng/(g·hr), peach tree leaf 938.8 ±  154.5 ng/(g·hr)), followed by acetic acid and green leaf volatiles. Beside the above three compounds, acetaldehyde had an important contribution to the emissions from the fruit. Overall, the total BVOCs (sum of eight compounds studied in this paper) emitted by both leaf and fruit gradually decreased along the fruit development, although the effect was significant only for the leaf. The leaf (2020.8 ±  258.8 ng/(g·hr)) was a stronger BVOC emitter than the fruit (146.0 ± 45.7 ng/(g·hr)) (P = 0.006), and there were no significant differences in total BVOC emission rates between apple and peach trees. These findings contribute to our understanding on BVOC emissions from different plant organs and provide important insights into the variation of BVOC emissions across different fruit developmental stages.     

Adsorption and membrane separation for removal and recovery of volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) are a crucial kind of pollutants in the environment due to their obvious features of severe toxicity, high volatility, and poor degradability. It is particularly urgent to control the emission of VOCs due to the persistent increase of concentration and the stringent regulations. In China, clear directions and requirements for reduction of VOCs have been given in the “national plan on environmental improvement for the 13th Five-Year Plan period”. Therefore, the de...     

Kinetic and product studies of the reactions of NO3 with a series of unsaturated organic compounds

Rate coefficients for the reaction of NO₃ radicals with 6 unsaturated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a 7300 L simulation chamber at ambient temperature and pressure have been determined by the relative rate method. The resulting rate coefficients were determined for isoprene, 2-carene, 3-carene, methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), methacrolein (MACR) and crotonaldehyde (CA), as (6.6 ± 0.8) × 10^?13, (1.8 ± 0.6) × 10^?11, (8.7 ± 0.5) × 10^?12, (1.24 ± 1.04) × 10^?16, (3.3 ± 0.9) × 10^?15 and (5.7 ± 1.2) × 10^?15 cm³/(molecule?sec), respectively. The experiments indicate that NO₃ radical reactions with all the studied unsaturated VOCs proceed through addition to the olefinic bond, however, it indicates that the introduction of a carbonyl group into unsaturated VOCs can deactivate the neighboring olefinic bond towards reaction with the NO₃ radical, which is to be expected since the presence of these electron-withdrawing substituents will reduce the electron density in the π orbitals of the alkenes, and will therefore reduce the rate coefficient of these electrophilic addition reactions. In addition, we investigated the product formation from the reactions of 2-carene and 3-carene with the NO₃ radical. Qualitative identification of an epoxide (C₁₀H₁₆OH⁺), caronaldehyde (C₁₀H₁₆O₂H⁺) and nitrooxy-ketone (C₁₀H₁₆O₄NH⁺) was achieved using a proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS) and a reaction mechanism is proposed.     

Ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation potential from anthropogenic volatile organic compounds emissions in China

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are major precursors for ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), both of which greatly harm human health and significantly affect the Earth''s climate. We simultaneously estimated ozone and SOA formation from anthropogenic VOCs emissions in China by employing photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) values and SOA yields. We gave special attention to large molecular species and adopted the SOA yield curves from latest smog chamber experiments. The estimation shows that alkylbenzenes are greatest contributors to both ozone and SOA formation (36.0% and 51.6%, respectively), while toluene and xylenes are largest contributing individual VOCs. Industry solvent use, industry process and domestic combustion are three sectors with the largest contributions to both ozone (24.7%, 23.0% and 17.8%, respectively) and SOA (22.9%, 34.6% and 19.6%, respectively) formation. In terms of the formation potential per unit VOCs emission, ozone is sensitive to open biomass burning, transportation, and domestic solvent use, and SOA is sensitive to industry process, domestic solvent use, and domestic combustion. Biomass stoves, paint application in industrial protection and buildings, adhesives application are key individual sources to ozone and SOA formation, whether measured by total contribution or contribution per unit VOCs emission. The results imply that current VOCs control policies should be extended to cover most important industrial sources, and the control measures for biomass stoves should be tightened. Finally, discrepant VOCs control policies should be implemented in different regions based on their ozone/aerosol concentration levels and dominant emission sources for ozone and SOA formation potential.     

食品垃圾好氧降解过程中挥发性有机物(VOCs)排放特征

采用实验室模拟方法,研究了混合食品垃圾(FW)及以橙子、生菜、土豆和西红柿为代表的4种植物性易降解有机垃圾组分好氧降解过程中排放出来的117种挥发性有机物(VOCs)的排放量和组成特征.结果表明,混合食品垃圾好氧降解过程中VOCs总排放量为951.80mg·kg-1,主要为有机硫、含氧化合物和萜烯,分别占VOCs总排放量的43.1%、53.3%和2.1%.橙子、生菜、土豆和西红柿4种植物性易降解有机垃圾好氧降解过程中VOCs的总排放量分别为12736.72、118.67、57.40和228.08mg·kg-1,主要成分均为含氧化合物和萜烯;含氧化合物分别占橙子、生菜、土豆和西红柿4种植物性易降解有机垃圾VOCs总排放量的13.5%、80.9%、85.9%和79.5%,萜烯分别占4种植物性易降解有机垃圾VOCs总排放量的86.5%、16.6%、8.2%和15.6%.     

Removal of gaseous volatile organic compounds via vacuum ultraviolet photodegradation: Review and prospect

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have attracted much attention for decades as they are the precursors of photochemical smog and are harmful to the environment and human health. Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photodegradation is a simple and effective method to decompose VOCs (ranging from tens to hundreds of ppmV) without additional oxidants or catalysts in the air at atmospheric pressure. In this paper, we review the research progress of VOCs removal via VUV photodegradation. The fundamentals are outlined and the key operation factors for VOCs degradation, such as humidity, oxygen content, VOCs initial concentration, light intensity, and flow rate, are discussed. VUV photodegradation of VOCs mixture is elucidated. The application of VUV photodegradation in combination with ozone-assisted catalytic oxidation (OZCO) and photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) systems, and as the pre-treatment technique for biological purification are illustrated. Based on the summary, we propose the challenges of VUV photodegradation and perspectives for its future development.     

Potential applications of porous organic polymers as adsorbent for the adsorption of volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with high toxicity and carcinogenicity are emitted from kinds of industries, which endanger human health and the environment. Adsorption is a promising method for the treatment of VOCs due to its low cost and high efficiency. In recent years, activated carbons, zeolites, and mesoporous materials are widely used to remove VOCs because of their high specific surface area and abundant porosity. However, the hydrophilic nature and low desorption rate of those materials limit their commercial application. Furthermore, the adsorption capacities of VOCs still need to be improved. Porous organic polymers (POPs) with extremely high porosity, structural diversity, and hydrophobic have been considered as one of the most promising candidates for VOCs adsorption. This review generalized the superiority of POPs for VOCs adsorption compared to other porous materials and summarized the studies of VOCs adsorption on different types of POPs. Moreover, the mechanism of competitive adsorption between water and VOCs on the POPs was discussed. Finally, a concise outlook for utilizing POPs for VOCs adsorption was discussed, noting areas in which further work is needed to develop the next-generation POPs for practical applications.     

Environmental impact and health risk assessment of volatile organic compound emissions during different seasons in Beijing

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are major contributors to air pollution.Based on the emission characteristics of 99 VOCs that daily measured at 10 am in winter from 15 December 2015 to 17 January 2016 and in summer from 21 July to 25 August 2016 in Beijing,the environmental impact and health risk of VOC were assessed.In the winter polluted days,the secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAP) of VOC (199.70±15.05 mg/m³) was significantly higher than that on other days.And ar...     

Reviews of emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in Asia

Biogenic volatile organic compounds(BVOCs) in the atmosphere play important roles in the formation of ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosol(SOA) in global scale and also in regional scale under some condition due to their large amount and relatively higher reactivity.In places with high plant cover in the tropics and in China where air pollution is serious,the effect of BVOCs on ozone and secondary organic aerosols is strong.The present research aims to provide a comprehensive review ...     

Characterization, reactivity, source apportionment, and potential source areas of ambient volatile organic compounds in a typical tropical city

Based on one-year observation, the concentration, sources, and potential source areas of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were comprehensively analyzed to investigate the pollution characteristics of ambient VOCs in Haikou, China. The results showed that the annual average concentration of total VOCs (TVOCs) was 11.4 ppbV, and the composition was dominated by alkanes (8.2 ppbV, 71.4%) and alkenes (1.3 ppbV, 20.5%). The diurnal variation in the concentration of dominant VOC species showed a distinct bimodal distribution with peaks in the morning and evening. The greatest contribution to ozone formation potential (OFP) was made by alkenes (51.6%), followed by alkanes (27.2%). The concentrations of VOCs and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in spring and summer were low, and it was difficult to generate high ozone (O₃) concentrations through photochemical reactions. The significant increase in O₃ concentrations in autumn and winter was mainly related to the transmission of pollutants from the northeast. Traffic sources (40.1%), industrial sources (19.4%), combustion sources (18.6%), solvent usage sources (15.5%) and plant sources (6.4%) were identified as major sources of VOCs through the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. The southeastern coastal areas of China were identified as major potential source areas of VOCs through the potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) models. Overall, the concentration of ambient VOCs in Haikou was strongly influenced by traffic sources and long-distance transport, and the control of VOCs emitted from vehicles should be strengthened to reduce the active species of ambient VOCs in Haikou, thereby reducing the generation of O₃.     

Facile synthesis of graphitic carbon-nitride supported antimony-doped tin oxide nanocomposite and its application for the adsorption of volatile organic compounds

Antimony-doped tin oxide(ATO) nanoparticles with an average size of ～ 6 nm were prepared by co-precipitation and subsequent heat treatment. Graphitic carbon nitride(g-CN)/ATO hybrid nanocomposite was designed by the combination of thermally synthesized g-CN and ATO nanoparticles by ultrasonication. The materials were characterized using N2 adsorption/desorption(BET), X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR). A mixture of five volatile organic compounds(VOCs, chloroform, benzene, toluene, xylene and styrene) was used to compare the adsorption capacity of the samples. The adsorption capacity of ATO nanoparticles was improved by the addition of g-CN. Experimental data showed that, among the five VOCs,chloroform was the least adsorbed, regardless of the samples. The g-CN/ATO showed nearly three times greater adsorption capacity for the VOC mixture than pure ATO. The unchanged efficiency of VOC adsorption during cyclic use demonstrated the completely reversible adsorption and desorption behavior of the nanocomposite at room conditions. This economically and environmentally friendly material can be a practical solution for outdoor and indoor VOC removal.     

Characteristics and ozone formation potential of volatile organic compounds in emissions from a typical Chinese coking plant

Coking industry is an important volatile organic compounds(VOCs) emission source in China,however,detailed information on VOCs emissions is lacking.Therefore,we selected a typical mechanized coking plant and collected air samples according to the Emission Standard of Pollutants for Coking Chemical Industry(GB16171-2012).Using gas chromatographymass spectrometry method,we analyzed the VOCs in the air samples,and applied maximum increment reactivity(MIR) rule to estimate ozone formation potential(...     

A review of whole-process control of industrial volatile organic compounds in China

Volatile organic compounds(VOCs) play an important role in the formation of ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosol(SOA), and they have been key issues in current air pollution prevention and control in China. Considerable attention has been paid to industrial activities due to their large and relatively complex VOCs emissions. The present research aims to provide a comprehensive review on whole-process control of industrial VOCs, which mainly includes source reduction, collection enhan...     

中国室内挥发性有机物污染特征

近年来室内空气污染问题频发,已引起全社会的广泛关注.挥发性有机物(volatile organic compounds,VOCs)是室内空气的主要污染物之一,其成分复杂,来源广泛,严重威胁人体健康.本文综述了中国近十年来室内VOCs在来源、浓度水平、影响因素及健康评价方面的研究进展.研究表明,室内建筑装修材料、人类活动及室外污染等来源都会影响VOCs的室内浓度;中国住宅内甲醛、苯等VOCs污染普遍存在,家具市场是甲醛污染最高的公共场所;VOCs浓度受到温湿度、通风和装修时间等因素影响;中国室内部分VOCs对人体健康影响评估值超过美国环保署可接受水平.调查更全面的室内VOCs数据,探索对各类因素影响机制,提出更有效降低VOCs对人体健康影响的措施将是未来室内空气治理重点发展方向.     

成都秋季大气污染过程VOCs特征及SOA生成潜势

利用在线气相色谱-质谱（GC-FID/MS）监测系统,对成都市城区秋季典型大气污染期间环境空气中的77种挥发性有机物（VOCs）进行连续监测,分析了污染前期、污染中期、污染后期VOCs的污染特征、日变化规律.结果表明,成都市城区典型污染前期VOCs体积分数为38.9×10^-9;污染中期VOCs体积分数迅速增加,比污染前期高3.7倍,达到143.4×10^-9,污染后期VOCs体积分数为35.7×10^-9.污染前期VOCs日变化不明显,污染中期、后期VOCs日变化呈双峰性,分别出现在每天车流量高峰时段.此外,利用气溶胶生成系数（FAC）评估了不同污染阶段VOCs对二次有机气溶胶（SOA）的生成潜势,污染前期、污染中期、污染后期SOA浓度值分别为1.1,3.1,1.5 μg/m³,芳香烃是SOA的主要前体物.     

Characteristics of ambient volatile organic compounds during spring O3 pollution episode in Chengdu, China

Surface ozone (O₃) has become a critical pollutant impeding air quality improvement in many Chinese megacities. Chengdu is a megacity located in Sichuan Basin in southwest China, where O₃ pollution occurs frequently in both spring and summer. In order to understand the elevated O₃ during spring in Chengdu, we conducted sampling campaign at three sites during O₃ pollution episodes in April. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) compositions at each site were similar, and oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) concentrations accounted for the highest proportion (35%-45%), followed by alkanes, alkens (including acetylene), halohydrocarbons, and aromatics. The sensitivity of O₃ to its precursors was analyzed using an observation based box model. The relative incremental reactivity of OVOCs was larger than other precursors, suggesting that they also played the dominant role in O₃ formation. Furthermore, the positive matrix factorization model was used to identify the dominant emission sources and to evaluate their contribution to VOCs in the city. The main sources of VOCs in spring were from combustion (27.75%), industrial manufacturing (24.17%), vehicle exhaust (20.35%), and solvent utilization (18.35%). Discussions on VOCs and NO_x reduction schemes suggested that Chengdu was typical in the VOC-limited regime, and VOC emission reduction would help to prevent and control O₃. The analysis of emission reduction scenarios based on VOCs sources showed that the emission reduction ratio of VOCs to NO₂ needs to reach more than 3 in order to achieve O₃ prevention. Emission reduction from vehicular exhaust source and solvent utilization source may be more effective.     

Emission factors, ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation potential of volatile organic compounds emitted from industrial biomass boilers

To evaluate the potential benefits of biomass use for air pollution control, this paper identified and quantified the emissions of major reactive organic compounds anticipated from biomass-fired industrial boilers. Wood pellets(WP) and straw pellets(SP) were burned to determine the volatile organic compound emission profiles for each biomass-boiler combination. More than 100 types of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) were measured from the two biomass boilers. The measured VOC species included alkanes, alkenes and acetylenes, aromatics, halocarbons and carbonyls. A single coal-fired boiler(CB) was also studied to provide a basis for comparison. Biomass boiler 1(BB1) emitted relatively high proportions of alkanes(28.9%–38.1% by mass) and alkenes and acetylenes(23.4%–40.8%),while biomass boiler 2(BB2) emitted relatively high proportions of aromatics(27.9%–29.2%)and oxygenated VOCs(33.0%–44.8%). The total VOC(TVOC) emission factors from BB1(128.59–146.16 mg/kg) were higher than those from BB2(41.26–85.29 mg/kg). The total ozone formation potential(OFP) ranged from 6.26 to 81.75 mg/m~3 with an average of 33.66 mg/m~3 for the two biomass boilers. The total secondary organic aerosol potential(SOAP) ranged from 61.56 to 211.67 mg/m~3 with an average of 142.27 mg/m~3 for the two biomass boilers.The emission factors(EFs) of TVOCs from biomass boilers in this study were similar to those for industrial coal-fired boilers with the same thermal power. These data can supplement existing VOC emission factors for biomass combustion and thus enrich the VOC emission inventory.