Onboard measurements of organic vapor emissions from river vessels under various operational conditions

Mengxue Tong; Yanli Zhang; Mei Li; Qi Wang; Xiao Tian; Dan Zhang; Aoqi Ge; Wei Song; Xin Xiong; Yinong You; Yongjang Xu; Yihua Huang; Xin Yang; Xinming Wang

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125332

Onboard measurements of organic vapor emissions from river vessels under various operational conditions

Environ Pollut. 2024 Nov 16;364(Pt 1):125332. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125332. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mengxue Tong¹, Yanli Zhang², Mei Li³, Qi Wang¹, Xiao Tian¹, Dan Zhang¹, Aoqi Ge¹, Wei Song¹, Xin Xiong³, Yinong You³, Yongjang Xu³, Yihua Huang³, Xin Yang⁴, Xinming Wang¹

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, China; School of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 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, China; School of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: zhang_yl86@gig.ac.cn.
³ Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
⁴ School of Environmental, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.

PMID: 39557354
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125332

Abstract

The emission factors and characteristics of pollutants from river vessels are critical for understanding the environmental impact of ship emissions, particularly in inland waterways. However, research gaps remain regarding emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) from river vessels. In this study, we collected and analyzed organic vapor emissions, including non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHCs), oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) and IVOCs, from three river vessels under different operating conditions. The results show that the average emission factors of NMHCs, and IVOCs from river vessels are significantly higher than those from ocean-going vessels. Inland waterways' proximity to residential areas increases the risk of pollutant transport to urban environments, heightening the importance of managing river vessel emissions. Notably, older auxiliary engines displayed higher organic vapor emissions compared to main engines, underscoring the need for better control measures for aging engines. By analyzing the emission characteristics of organic vapors from river vessels, it was found that, unlike other pollution sources where C12 n-alkanes are the major contributors of IVOCs, the contributions of C12-C15 n-alkanes in river vessel exhaust are similar, with C14 n-alkane having the highest contribution. OVOCs constituted more than 50% to ozone formation potentials of organic vapors, while IVOCs were responsible for over 90% of the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. Given these findings, targeted efforts to reduce OVOCs and IVOCs emissions from river vessels should prioritized to mitigate their environmental impact.

Keywords: Emission factors; Intermediate-volatility organic compounds; Oxygenated volatile organic compounds; Ozone; River vessels; Secondary organic aerosols; Volatile organic compounds.