Dataset Information

Fast sulfate formation from oxidation of SO₂ by NO₂ and HONO observed in Beijing haze.

ABSTRACT: Severe events of wintertime particulate air pollution in Beijing (winter haze) are associated with high relative humidity (RH) and fast production of particulate sulfate from the oxidation of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emitted by coal combustion. There has been considerable debate regarding the mechanism for SO₂ oxidation. Here we show evidence from field observations of a haze event that rapid oxidation of SO₂ by nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and nitrous acid (HONO) takes place, the latter producing nitrous oxide (N₂O). Sulfate shifts to larger particle sizes during the event, indicative of fog/cloud processing. Fog and cloud readily form under winter haze conditions, leading to high liquid water contents with high pH (>5.5) from elevated ammonia. Such conditions enable fast aqueous-phase oxidation of SO₂ by NO₂, producing HONO which can in turn oxidize SO₂ to yield N₂O.This mechanism could provide an explanation for sulfate formation under some winter haze conditions.

SUBMITTER: Wang J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7275061 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fast sulfate formation from oxidation of SO2 by NO2 and HONO observed in Beijing haze.

Wang Junfeng J Li Jingyi J Ye Jianhuai J Zhao Jian J Wu Yangzhou Y Hu Jianlin J Liu Dantong D Nie Dongyang D Shen Fuzhen F Huang Xiangpeng X Huang Dan Dan DD Ji Dongsheng D Sun Xu X Xu Weiqi W Guo Jianping J Song Shaojie S Qin Yiming Y Liu Pengfei P Turner Jay R JR Lee Hyun Chul HC Hwang Sungwoo S Liao Hong H Martin Scot T ST Zhang Qi Q Chen Mindong M Sun Yele Y Ge Xinlei X Jacob Daniel J DJ

Nature communications 20200605 1

Severe events of wintertime particulate air pollution in Beijing (winter haze) are associated with high relative humidity (RH) and fast production of particulate sulfate from the oxidation of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitted by coal combustion. There has been considerable debate regarding the mechanism for SO2 oxidation. Here we show evidence from field observations of a haze event that rapid oxidation of SO2 by nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrous acid (HON ...[more]

PMID: 32503967

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Project description:Particulate matter (PM), a major air pollutant in Beijing in recent years, poses a formidable public health threat. Even through many studies have documented the chemical and biological characteristics of PM, less is known about these characteristics on hazardous haze days (Air Quality Index, AQI 301-500) and the difference with sunny or unhealthy haze day (AQI 151-200) characteristics. Herein, studies were performed during a red alert air pollution event (continuous hazardous haze days) and the first few days following the event (sunny days first and then unhealthy haze days) in Beijing from December 19 to 25, 2016. A laser particle counter and an ANDERSEM-6 sampler were used to study the concentration and size distributions dynamics of the PM and the culturable airborne bacteria and fungi, respectively. PM2.5 was sampled by a high-volume air sampler and the chemical compositions, bacterial and fungal community structures, and endotoxin levels were analyzed. The results showed that the PM concentrations on the hazardous haze days and unhealthy haze days were 10.7 and 8.0 times higher, respectively, than those on the sunny days. The chemical composition of PM2.5 was highly correlated with the AQI. The concentration and percentage of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSII), which dominated the PM2.5 constituents, as well as the levels of endotoxin were higher on hazardous haze days than on unhealthy haze days and sunny days. Interestingly, the abundances of bacteria and fungi demonstrated the following order: unhealthy haze days> sunny days> hazardous haze days. Most culturable bacteria and fungi were distributed in particles with aerodynamic diameters of 2.1-4.7 μm. Redundancy analysis found total organic carbon explained 30.0% and 27.1% of total variations in bacterial composition and fungal composition at the genera level, respectively. Our results facilitate a better understanding of the biological and chemical composition dynamics of PM in Beijing.

Dataset Information

Fast sulfate formation from oxidation of SO₂ by NO₂ and HONO observed in Beijing haze.

Publications

Fast sulfate formation from oxidation of SO<sub>2</sub> by NO<sub>2</sub> and HONO observed in Beijing haze.

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