Intermediate-volatility aromatic hydrocarbons from the rubber products industry in China

Zhou Zhang; Yanli Zhang; Lilin Zou; Zhongxiangyu Ou; Datong Luo; Zhan Liu; Zhonghui Huang; Leilei Fei; Xinming Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165583

Intermediate-volatility aromatic hydrocarbons from the rubber products industry in China

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Nov 10:898:165583. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165583. Epub 2023 Jul 17.

Authors

Zhou Zhang¹, Yanli Zhang², Lilin Zou³, Zhongxiangyu Ou³, Datong Luo⁴, Zhan Liu⁴, Zhonghui Huang⁵, Leilei Fei⁵, Xinming Wang⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; Changsha Center for Mineral Resources Exploration, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410013, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Changsha Center for Mineral Resources Exploration, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410013, China.
⁴ Hunan Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Changsha 410004, China.
⁵ South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.

PMID: 37467984
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165583

Abstract

As key components of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs), intermediate-volatility aromatic hydrocarbons (IAHs) are important precursors of ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Rubber products (RP) industry has significant influence on ozone and SOA formation, yet few studies are available to characterize their emissions of IAHs. Here we conducted measurements of IAHs emitted from rubber products (RP) factories in China. Tens of C₁₀-C₁₂ IAH species were identified with C₁₀H₁₄-AH (such as tetramethyl benzene) and naphthalene (C₁₀H₈) as the dominant species, accounting for 57.0 % - 100.0 % of total IAHs emissions. On average, IAHs showed higher concentrations (1.1 × 10²-1.2 × 10³ μg m^-3) in mixing, extrusion, painting, crushing, and grinding processes than those (8.2-14 μg m^-3) in vulcanization and gumming processes as well as warehouse. Moreover, IAHs concentrations were 1.3-1.7 times of volatile aromatic hydrocarbons (VAHs; C₆-C₉ aromatics) in the emissions from mixing, extrusion, crushing and grinding processes. The average IAHs to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) ratios also showed relatively higher values (0.1-0.7) in these processes, which were significantly higher than those of 0.01-0.03 observed in other industries, and even comparable to the IVOCs to VOCs ratio of 0.2 used for estimating solvent-related emission. The ozone and SOA formation potential values of IAHs were 1.1-2.6 times and 0.9-3.9 times those of VAHs, respectively, and were 0.5-1.0 times and 0.9-1.9 times those of total VOCs in emissions of mixing, extrusion, crushing, and grinding processes of the RP industry. The total emission of IAHs was estimated to be 115.8 Gg from the RP industry in China, which could account for 64.5 % of total IAH emissions from all industrial sectors. This study further suggests that the RP industry might be an important emission source of IAHs with substantially higher ozone and SOA formation potentials.

Keywords: Intermediate-volatility aromatic hydrocarbons; Ozone formation potentials; Rubber products industry; Secondary organic aerosol; Source profile.