Air pollutant emissions from Chinese households: A major and underappreciated ambient pollution source
Contributed by Kirk R. Smith, May 9, 2016 (sent for review January 29, 2015; reviewed by Gregory R. Carmichael and Kejun Jiang)
Letter
September 23, 2016
Significance
China suffers from severe outdoor air pollution and associated public health impacts. In response, the government has imposed restrictions on major pollution sources such as vehicles and power plants. We show that due to uncontrolled and inefficient combustion of solid fuels in household devices, emission reductions from the residential sector may have greater air quality benefits in the North China Plain, including Beijing than reductions from other sectors. These benefits would be largest in the winter heating season when severe air pollution occurs. Household emissions, mostly from space heating and cooking with solid fuels, are an important and generally unrecognized source of ambient air pollution in China and other developing countries. Alternative fuels and other ways of reducing emissions would have large benefits.
Abstract
As part of the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government has developed air pollution prevention and control plans for key regions with a focus on the power, transport, and industrial sectors. Here, we investigate the contribution of residential emissions to regional air pollution in highly polluted eastern China during the heating season, and find that dramatic improvements in air quality would also result from reduction in residential emissions. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry to evaluate potential residential emission controls in Beijing and in the Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei (BTH) region. In January and February 2010, relative to the base case, eliminating residential emissions in Beijing reduced daily average surface PM2.5 (particulate mater with aerodynamic diameter equal or smaller than 2.5 micrometer) concentrations by 14 ± 7 μg⋅m−3 (22 ± 6% of a baseline concentration of 67 ± 41 μg⋅m−3; mean ± SD). Eliminating residential emissions in the BTH region reduced concentrations by 28 ± 19 μg⋅m−3 (40 ± 9% of 67 ± 41 μg⋅m−3), 44 ± 27 μg⋅m−3 (43 ± 10% of 99 ± 54 μg⋅m−3), and 25 ± 14 μg⋅m−3 (35 ± 8% of 70 ± 35 μg⋅m−3) in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei provinces, respectively. Annually, elimination of residential sources in the BTH region reduced emissions of primary PM2.5 by 32%, compared with 5%, 6%, and 58% achieved by eliminating emissions from the transportation, power, and industry sectors, respectively. We also find air quality in Beijing would benefit substantially from reductions in residential emissions from regional controls in Tianjin and Hebei, indicating the value of policies at the regional level.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation Committee of China Grants 21190051, 41121004, and 41421064; European Seventh Framework Programme Project PURGE (Public Health Impacts in Urban Environments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Strategies) Grant 265325; and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, and by funding from the Council for International Teaching and Research at Princeton University for Jun Liu’s visit to Princeton University.
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Published online: June 27, 2016
Published in issue: July 12, 2016
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation Committee of China Grants 21190051, 41121004, and 41421064; European Seventh Framework Programme Project PURGE (Public Health Impacts in Urban Environments of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions Strategies) Grant 265325; and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality, and by funding from the Council for International Teaching and Research at Princeton University for Jun Liu’s visit to Princeton University.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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