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Significant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions.

Authors :: Chen ZL
Song W
Hu CC
Liu XJ
Chen GY
Walters WW
Michalski G
Liu CQ
Fowler D
Liu XY
Source :: Nature communications [Nat Commun] 2022 Dec 13; Vol. 13 (1), pp. 7710. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Dec 13.
Publication Year :: 2022
Abstract: Atmospheric ammonia (NH <subscript>3</subscript> ) and ammonium (NH <subscript>4</subscript> <superscript>+</superscript> ) can substantially influence air quality, ecosystems, and climate. NH <subscript>3</subscript> volatilization from fertilizers and wastes (v-NH <subscript>3</subscript> ) has long been assumed to be the primary NH <subscript>3</subscript> source, but the contribution of combustion-related NH <subscript>3</subscript> (c-NH <subscript>3</subscript> , mainly fossil fuels and biomass burning) remains unconstrained. Here, we collated nitrogen isotopes of atmospheric NH <subscript>3</subscript> and NH <subscript>4</subscript> <superscript>+</superscript> and established a robust method to differentiate v-NH <subscript>3</subscript> and c-NH <subscript>3</subscript> . We found that the relative contribution of the c-NH <subscript>3</subscript> in the total NH <subscript>3</subscript> emissions reached up to 40 ± 21% (6.6 ± 3.4 Tg N yr <superscript>-1</superscript> ), 49 ± 16% (2.8 ± 0.9 Tg N yr <superscript>-1</superscript> ), and 44 ± 19% (2.8 ± 1.3 Tg N yr <superscript>-1</superscript> ) in East Asia, North America, and Europe, respectively, though its fractions and amounts in these regions generally decreased over the past decades. Given its importance, c-NH <subscript>3</subscript> emission should be considered in making emission inventories, dispersion modeling, mitigation strategies, budgeting deposition fluxes, and evaluating the ecological effects of atmospheric NH <subscript>3</subscript> loading.<br /> (© 2022. The Author(s).)