ABSTRACT
Nitrous acid (HONO) plays an important role in atmospheric photochemistry processes because its photolysis provides an efficient source of hydroxyl (OH) radicals in the troposphere. However, few studies exist on HONO in nocturnal chemistry processes. Using the observation data of HONO and related parameters for a super site at Guangzhou Jinan University in October 2015, the pollution processes and sources of HONO during nighttime were analyzed in this study. The results showed that the average concentration of HONO was 4.32 µg ·m-3 during the nighttime, which was 2.6 times its concentration of 1.67 µg ·m-3 in the daytime. The conversion rate of HONO, CHONO, during the nighttime was 0.0068 h-1, and the average contribution of vehicle emissions to HONO was 15.1%, with a peak of 37.8% at 20:00. The average net HONO generation rate from the reaction of NO and OH radicals during the night was 0.44 µg ·(m3 ·h)-1. Correlation analysis suggested that particles could not be the major HONO source, but that relative humidity (RH; 33%-78%) was a key factor. Relevant calculation indicated that the heterogeneous reaction of deposited NO2 on humid ground surfaces could be the main source of HONO during nighttime.
ABSTRACT
Atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in an urban area of Guangzhou on July 2016 using an on-line gas chromatography mass spectrometry/fire ion detector. Seventy-three VOCs were detected with an average concentration of (118.83±79.40) µg·m-3, a maximum concentration of 492.42 µg·m-3, and a minimum concentration of 10.54 µg·m-3 during the period. The peak value of the TVOC concentration appeared at about 07:00 in the morning, indicating that motor vehicle pollution had a significant contribution at the site. The minimum value appeared at about 14:00 in the afternoon, related to photochemical losses. High concentrations were also observed from 21:00 to 24:00, which was probably related to pollution emissions and boundary layer compression. Source analysis by PMF showed that the site was mainly affected by five VOC sources: vehicle exhaust, solvent use, fuel loss at fuel stations, plant emissions, and cooking exhaust, the contributions of which were 29.79%, 26.61%, 24.86%, 9.91%, and 8.84%, respectively. Vehicle exhaust was the largest source of VOCs during the daytime, while the contribution of plant emissions increased significantly at noon. The contribution of solvent uses and fuel loss at fuel stations rose during the night and became the main source of VOCs until early morning.
