Characterization of photochemical losses of volatile organic compounds and their implications for ozone formation potential and source apportionment during summer in suburban Jinan, China.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) undergo substantial photochemical losses during their transport from emission sources to receptor sites, resulting in serious implications for their source apportionment and ozone (O 3) formation. Based on the continuous measurements of VOCs in suburban Jinan in August 2022, the effects of photochemical losses on VOC source contributions and O 3 formation were evaluated in this study. The observed and initial concentrations of total VOCs (TVOC) were 12.0 ± 5.1 and 16.0 ± 7.4 ppbv, respectively. Throughout the observation period, alkenes had the most prominent photochemical losses (58.2%), followed by aromatic hydrocarbons (23.1%), accounting for 80.6% and 6.9% of the total losses, respectively. During high O 3 episodes, the photochemical loss of VOCs was 6.9 times higher than that during the cleaning period. Alkene losses (exceeding 67.3%), specifically losses of isoprene, propylene, ethylene, and n-butene, dominated the total losses of VOCs during the O 3 increase period. Eight sources of VOCs were identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF) based on the observed and initial concentration data (OC-PMF and IC-PMF, respectively). Concentrations of all emission sources in the OC-PMF were underestimated by 2.4%–57.1%. Moreover, the contribution of each emission source was over- or underestimated compared with that in case of the IC-PMF. The contributions of biogenic and motor vehicle exhaust emissions were underestimated by 5.3 and 2.8 percentage points, respectively, which was associated with substantial oxidation of the emitted high-reactive species. The contributions of coal/biomass burning and natural gas were overestimated by 2.4 and 3.9 percentage points, respectively, which were related to the emission of low-reactive species (acetylene, ethane, and propane). Based on our results, the photochemical losses of VOCs grossly affect their source apportionment and O 3 formation. Thus, photochemical losses of VOCs must be thoroughly accounted to establish a precise scientific foundation for air-pollution control strategies. [Display omitted] • Photochemical losses contributed 58.2% of initial alkenes and 23.1% of initial aromatics. • Photochemical loss of VOCs during high ozone period was 6.9 times higher than that during cleaning period. • Source apportionment based on measured VOCs might lead to biased conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]