Real-World Vehicle Volatile Organic Compound Emissions and Their Source Profile in Chengdu Based on a Roadside and Tunnel Study

• Main Authors: Miao Feng, Xiang Hu, Li Zhou, Tianyue Zhang, Xiao Zhang, Qinwen Tan, Zihang Zhou, Ye Deng, Danlin Song, Chengmin Huang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: Atmosphere
• Subjects: volatile organic compounds; tunnel experiment; vehicular emissions; emission factors; roadside sampling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/7/861

With the continuous progress of air pollution prevention and control in China, the study of the emission characteristics of vehicles has become increasingly important. An in situ experiment was performed in the Tianfu tunnel in Chengdu to determine the vehicle emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A total of 50 species of VOCs were quantified in the tunnel, with total concentrations in the range of 32.25–162.18 ppbv in the entrance and 52.90–233.92 ppbv in the exit, respectively. Alkanes were the most abundant group, followed by alkenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, oxygenated VOCs, alkynes and chlorocarbons. The general emission factors of the measured VOCs ranged from 141.71 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹ to 236.12 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹, and the average ± std was 177.31 ± 24.59 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹. The emission factors of diesel-fuelled vehicles, gasoline-fuelled vehicles and natural gas-fuelled vehicles were estimated based on linear regression analysis, with values of 272.39 ± 191.17 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹, 185.08 ± 12.85 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹ and 158.72 ± 3.21 mg veh⁻¹ km⁻¹, respectively. The results of roadside experiments indicate that the roadside ambience atmosphere contains many species characterized with vehicle emission features. Especially, there were fuel evaporation emission related substances, which were higher in content than tunnel samples.