Trends and Source Contribution Characteristics of SO2, NOX, PM10 and PM2.5 Emissions in Sichuan Province from 2013 to 2017

As one of the most populated regions in China, Sichuan province had been suffering from deteriorated air quality due to the dramatic growth of economy and vehicles in recent years. To deal with the increasingly serious air quality problem, Sichuan government agencies had made great efforts to formulate various control measures and policies during the past decade. In order to better understand the emission control progress in recent years and to guide further control policy formulation, the emission trends and source contribution characteristics of SO2, NOX, PM10 and PM2.5 from 2013 to 2017 were characterized by using emission factor approach in this study. The results indicated that SO2 emission decreased rapidly during 2013-2017 with total emission decreased by 52%. NOX emission decreased during 2013-2015 but started to increase slightly afterward. PM10 and PM2.5 emissions went down consistently during the study period, decreased by 26% and 25%, respectively. In summary, the contribution of power plants kept decreasing, while contribution of industrial combustion remained steady in the past 5 years. The contribution of industrial processes increased for SO2 emission, and decreased slightly for NOX, PM10 and PM2.5 emissions. The on-road mobile sources were the largest emission contributor for NOX, accounting for about 32-40%, and its contribution increased during 2013-2015 and then decreased. It was worth mentioning that nonroad mobile sources and natural gas fired boilers were becoming important NOX contributors in Sichuan. Fugitive dust were the key emission sources for PM10 and PM2.5, and the contribution kept increasing in the study period. Comparison results with other inventories, satellite data and ground observations indicated that emission trends developed in this research were relatively credible.

Automated summary

Sichuan province in China has been suffering from deteriorated air quality due to the growth of economy and vehicles, prompting government agencies to formulate various control measures. SO2 emissions decreased rapidly, while NOX emissions slightly increased. PM10 and PM2.5 emissions decreased consistently. Industrial processes contributed more to SO2 emissions, while road mobile sources were the largest contributor for NOX. Dust emissions were key sources for PM10 and PM2.5, and their contribution kept increasing. Comparisons with other inventories, satellite data, and ground observations indicated the credibility of the emission trends developed in this research.