Well-to-wheels greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from battery electric vehicles in China

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Electric vehicles (EVs) play a crucial role in addressing climate change and urban air quality concerns. China has emerged as the global...     

Optimal range of plug-in electric vehicles in Beijing and Shanghai

Both China’s national subsidy policies for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) purchasers and passenger cars corporate average fuel consumption and new vehicle credit regulation (dual-credit policy) favor long-range 300+ km battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 80+ km plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). However, these electric vehicles tend to have lower energy efficiency and higher purchase and operation costs. Vehicle with larger batteries can also be less equitable because the subsidies are often provided to more expensive vehicles and wealthier owners. This study takes advantage of a novel dataset of daily driving data from 39,854 conventional gasoline vehicles in Beijing and 4999 PHEVs in Shanghai to determine the optimal range of BEVs and PHEVs within their respective cities. We simulate a model to explore ranges with which PEVs emit less GHGs than that of a baseline hybrid and conventional gasoline vehicle while ensuring that all daily travel demands are met. Our findings indicate that in both cities, the optimal ranges to balance cost and travel demand for BEVs are 350 km or less and for PHEVs are 60 km or less in Beijing and 80 km or less in Shanghai. We also find that to minimize carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, the ranges are even lower 10 km in Beijing and 30 km in Shanghai. Our study suggests that instead of encouraging long-range PEVs, governments should subsidize PEV models with shorter ranges. Parallel efforts should also be made to both increase renewable energy over fossil fuels and expand charging facilities. Although individual mobility demand varies, the government could reduce occasional long-distance driving by subsidizing alternative transportation choices. Providing week-long driving trials to consumers before their purchases may help decrease the demand of very long range PEVs by alleviating the range anxiety through a learning process.

     

邻苯二甲酸二丁酯降解过程的单体同位素分析

研究对比了邻苯二甲酸二丁酯（DBP）在不同降解过程（水解、UV/H₂O₂光解、直接光解、过硫酸钾光氧化）中的碳、氢同位素组成变化、分馏特征及二维同位素（Δδ²H-Δδ¹³C）的相关性.水解反应中DBP分子产生了显著的碳同位素分馏,未发现氢同位素分馏,而且碳同位素富集因子ε_C为（-2.7±0.4）‰,表明DBP水解时发生C-O键断裂,氢原子不参与反应.而UV/H₂O₂光解和直接光解反应（pH值分别为2、7和10）中,DBP分子呈现了相似的二维同位素相关性Λ值[（9±2）~（11±2）],推测经历了相同的反应过程.过硫酸钾光氧化降解时,明显偏大的Λ值（31±3）说明反应可能发生C-H键断裂.结果表明：二维单体同位素分析（2D-CSIA）技术可以有效区分DBP的水解、光解、光氧化3种不同类型的降解过程,有助于分析其降解路径.     

互花米草入侵对长江口湿地土壤碳动态的影响

为了评价互花米草入侵对长江河口湿地土壤碳动态的影响,利用配对的试验设计在长江口崇明东滩湿地的高潮滩和低潮滩各设置1条入侵种互花米草与土著种的配对样线.结果表明,与土著植物相比,互花米草入侵显著增加了长江口湿地的植物碳库、土壤微生物碳、土壤总碳库和有机碳库,而对占土壤总碳库60%以上的无机碳库无显著影响,意味着互花米草入侵导致的土壤总碳库改变主要是通过增加土壤有机碳库来实现的.高潮滩互花米草和芦苇群落的年均土壤呼吸强度分别为（210.02±4.90）,（157.79±6.39）mg/（m²·h）;低潮滩互花米草和海三棱藨草群落年均土壤CO₂排放速率分别为（157.41±5.27）,（110.90±5.16）mg/（m²·h）,表明互花米草入侵显著增加长江口湿地的土壤呼吸.上述结果意味着互花米草入侵同时增加土壤碳输入和碳输出,但入侵也显著增加了土壤碳库表明入侵增加的土壤碳输入显著高于增加的土壤碳输出.本研究表明互花米草入侵可能会增强了长江河口湿地的土壤碳汇强度和固碳能力.但仍然需要长期系统的监测研究,以便全面定量评估互花米草入侵我国滨海湿地的综合生态影响.     

The effects of autophagy on vascular endothelial cells induced by airborne PM2.5

The purpose of this study was to examine the direct toxicity of PM2.5 collected from Beijing on human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC). A Cell Counting Kit 8(CCK8) assay demonstrated that PM2.5 exposure decreased the proliferation of HUVECs in a dosedependent manner. We also found that PM2.5 exposure induced autophagy in HUVECs, as evidenced by:(1) an increased number of double-membrane vesicles;(2) enhanced conversion and punctuation of the microtubule-associated protein light chain 3(LC3); and(3) decreased levels of the selective autophagy substrate p62 in a time-dependent manner.Furthermore, promoting autophagy in PM2.5-exposed HUVECs with rapamycin increased the cell survival rate, whereas inhibiting autophagy via 3-methyladenine significantly decreased cell survival. These results demonstrate that PM2.5 exposure can induce cytotoxicity and autophagy in HUVECs and that autophagy play a protective role against PM2.5-induced cytotoxicity. The findings of the present study imply a direct toxic effect of PM2.5 on HUVECs and provide novel insight into the mechanism of cardiovascular diseases caused by PM2.5 exposure.     

Effect of TiO2 nanoparticle aggregation on marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana

TiO_2 nanoparticles(NPs) could adversely impact aquatic ecosystems. However, the aggregation of these NPs could attenuate this effect. In this work, the biological effects of TiO_2 NPs on a marine microalgae Isochrysis galbana were investigated. The aggregation kinetics of TiO_2 NPs under different conditions was also investigated to determine and understand these effects. Results showed that, though TiO_2 NPs had no obvious impact on the size and reproducibility of algal cells under testing conditions, they caused a negative effect on algal chlorophyll, which led to a reduction in photosynthesis. Furthermore, fast aggregation of TiO_2 NPs occurred under all conditions, especially at the pH close to the p Hzpc. Increasing ionic strength and NP concentration also enhanced the aggregation rate.The aggregation and the following sedimentation of TiO_2 NPs reduced their adverse effects on I. galbana.     

Mercury flows in large-scale gold production and implications for Hg pollution control

Large-scale gold production(LSGP) is one of the five convention-related atmospheric mercury(Hg) emission sources in the Minamata Convention on Mercury. However, field experiments on Hg flows of the whole process of LSGP are limited. To identify the atmospheric Hg emission points and understand Hg emission characteristics of LSGP, Hg flows in two gold smelters were studied. Overall atmospheric Hg emissions accounted for 10%–17% of total Hg outputs and the Hg emission factors for all processes were 7.6–9.6 kg/ton. There were three dominant atmospheric Hg emission points in the studied gold smelters, including the exhaust gas of the roasting process, exhaust gas from the environmental fog collection stack and exhaust gas from the converter of the refining process. Atmospheric Hg emissions from the roasting process only accounted for 16%–29% of total emissions and the rest were emitted from the refining process. The overall Hg speciation profile(gaseous elemental Hg/gaseous oxidized Hg/particulate-bound Hg) for LSGP was 34.1/57.1/8.8. The dominant Hg output byproducts included waste acid, sulfuric acid and cyanide leaching residue. Total Hg outputs from these three byproducts were 80% in smelter A and 84% in smelter B. Our study indicated that previous atmospheric Hg emissions from large-scale gold production might have been overestimated.Hg emission control in LSGP is not especially urgent in China compared to other significant emission sources(e.g., cement plants). Instead, LSGP is a potential Hg release source due to the high Hg output proportions to acid and sludge.     

Effects of Na+ on Cu/SAPO-34 for ammonia selective catalytic reduction

Copper-exchanged chabazite (Cu/CHA) catalysts have been found to be affected by alkali metal and alkaline earth ions. However, the effects of Na⁺ ions on Cu/SAPO-34 for ammonia selective catalytic reduction (NH₃-SCR) are still unclear. In order to investigate the mechanism, five samples with various Na contents were synthesized and characterized. It was observed that the introduced Na⁺ ion-exchanges with H⁺ and Cu^2 + of Cu/SAPO-34. The exchange of H⁺ is easier than that of isolated Cu^2 +. The exchanged Cu^2 + ions aggregate and form “CuAl₂O₄-like” species. The NH₃-SCR activity of Cu/SAPO-34 decreases with increasing Na content, and the loss of isolated Cu^2 + and acid sites is responsible for the activity loss.     

Seasonal variation and size distribution of biogenic secondary organic aerosols at urban and continental background sites of China

Size-resolved biogenic secondary organic aerosols(BSOA) derived from isoprene and monoterpene photooxidation in Qinghai Lake, Tibetan Plateau(a continental background site) and five cities of China were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry(GC/MS). Concentrations of the determined BSOA are higher in the cities than in the background and are also higher in summer than in winter. Moreover, strong positive correlations(R2= 0.44–0.90) between BSOA and sulfate were found at the six sites,suggesting that anthropogenic pollution(i.e., sulfate) could enhance SOA formation,because sulfate provides a surface favorable for acid-catalyzed formation of BSOA. Size distribution measurements showed that most of the determined SOA tracers are enriched in the fine mode( 3.3 μm) except for cis-pinic and cis-pinonic acids, both presented a comparable mass in the fine and coarse( 3.3 μm) modes, respectively. Mass ratio of oxidation products derived from isoprene to those from monoterpene in the five urban regions during summer are much less than those in Qinghai Lake region. In addition, in the five urban regions relative abundances of monoterpene oxidation products to SOA are much higher than those of isoprene. Such phenomena suggest that BSOA derived from monoterpenes are more abundant than those from isoprene in Chinese urban areas.     

Regionalization based on spatial and seasonal variation in ground-level ozone concentrations across China

Owing to the vast territory of China and strong regional characteristic of ozone pollution,it's desirable for policy makers to have a targeted and prioritized regulation and ozone pollution control strategy in China based on scientific evidences. It's important to assess its current pollution status as well as spatial and temporal variation patterns across China.Recent advances of national monitoring networks provide an opportunity to insight the actions of ozone pollution. Here, we present rotated empirical orthogonal function(REOF)analysis that was used on studying the spatiotemporal characteristics of daily ozone concentrations. Based on results of REOF analysis in pollution seasons for 3 years' observations, twelve regions with clear patterns were identified in China. The patterns of temporal variation of ozone in each region were separated well and different from each other, reflecting local meteorological, photochemical or pollution features. A rising trend in annual averaged Eight-hour Average Ozone Concentrations(O_3-8 hr) from 2014 to 2016 was observed for all regions, except for the Tibetan Plateau. The mean values of annual and 90 percentile concentrations for all 338 cities were 82.6 ± 14.6 and 133.9 ± 25.8 μg/m~3,respectively, in 2015. The regionalization results of ozone were found to be influenced greatly by terrain features, indicating significant terrain and landform effects on ozone spatial correlations. Among 12 regions, North China Plain, Huanghuai Plain, Central Yangtze River Plain, Pearl River Delta and Sichuan Basin were realized as priority regions for mitigation strategies, due to their higher ozone concentrations and dense population.