Chemical reactivity of volatile organic compounds and their effects on ozone formation in a petrochemical industrial area of Lanzhou, Western China

Measurements of ozone (O3) and its precursors were performed in the summer of 2019 in Lanzhou, a petrochemical industrial city, to better understand the reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their effects on O3 production. During the campaign, the daily maximum 8-hour average (MDA8) O3, NO2, and total VOC (TVOC) concentrations reached 72.2 ± 19.9 ppb, 24.9 ± 10.8 ppb, and 50.8 ± 46.1 ppb, respectively. Alkanes, alkenes, halocarbons, aromatics, and alkynes contributed 45.3%, 24.0%, 16.5%, 10.0%, and 4.2% to TVOCs, respectively. The OH reactivity and relative incremental reactivity (RIR) of VOCs at different times were calculated. The results indicated that alkenes played a predominant role, accounting for an average of 68.5% of the initial VOC reactivity. Compared to other regions, alkenes are relatively more important for O3 formation in the petrochemical industry area of Lanzhou, while aromatics are relatively less important. Generally, O3 formation occurred in a VOC-limited regime in the morning and in a transitional regime in the afternoon. The response surface methodology (RSM) combined with a chemical box model was applied to obtain relationships between O3 and its precursors and determine the most effective way to reduce the O3 concentration. Reduction in the non-alkene concentration slightly affected the O3 concentration. In contrast, the effect of nitrogen oxides (NOx) was closely related to the alkene concentration, and NOx concentration reduction could lead to an increase in the O3 concentration when alkenes were abated to less than 80% of the present concentration. To mitigate O3 pollution near the petrochemical industrial area of Lanzhou, reducing the alkene concentration, especially the C4 alkene concentration (1,3-butadiene, cis-2-butene, and trans-2-butene), was the fastest and most effective control strategy. The results of this study serve as a reference for O3 pollution control in petrochemical industrial areas.