[Chemical Characteristics and Sources of Atmospheric Carbonyls During the 2014 Beijing APEC]

Pollution characteristic and variation trend of atmospheric carbonyls were investigated in November during the 2014 Beijing APEC. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone were the dominant carbonyls, accounting for 82.66% of total carbonyls, and especially, formaldehyde accounted for 40.12% of total carbonyls. Atmospheric concentrations of total carbonyls decreased by around 64.10% after the clean air policy was carried out during the Beijing APEC, and the variation trend of carbonyls showed a similar pattern to those of other pollutants like PM₂.₅ during the APEC. Strong correlations (R² of 0.67-0.98) were observed among formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone and total carbonyls during and after the APEC, indicating that they had similar sources; however, poor correlations (R² of -0.11-0.42 and 0.16-0.94, respectively) were observed before the APEC, implying different emission sources for ambient carbonyls. The calculated ratios of C1/C2, C2/C3 and OC/EC indicated that both vehicles and coal emissions were responsible for atmospheric carbonyls before the APEC, and emissions from coal burning were the major contributor to atmospheric carbonyls during and after the APEC, especially after the APEC.