Primary emissions versus secondary formation of fine particulate matter in the most polluted city (Shijiazhuang) in North China

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a severe environmental problem in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in North China. PM studies have been conducted extensively in Beijing, but the chemical composition, sources, and atmospheric processes of PM are still relatively less known in nearby Tianjin and Hebei. In this study, fine PM in urban Shijiazhuang (the capital of Hebei Province) was characterized using an Aerodyne quadrupole aerosol chemical speciation monitor (Q-ACSM) from 11 January to 18 February in 2014. The average mass concentration of non-refractory submicron PM (diameter&thinsp;<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">&lt;1</span>&thinsp;<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">μm</span>, NR-PM<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">1</span>) was <span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">178±101</span>&thinsp;<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">μg mĝ'3</span>, and it was composed of 50&thinsp;% organic aerosol (OA), 21&thinsp;% sulfate, 12&thinsp;% nitrate, 11&thinsp;% ammonium, and 6&thinsp;% chloride. Using the multilinear engine (ME-2) receptor model, five OA sources were identified and quantified, including hydrocarbon-like OA from vehicle emissions (HOA, 13&thinsp;%), cooking OA (COA, 16&thinsp;%), biomass burning OA (BBOA, 17&thinsp;%), coal combustion OA (CCOA, 27&thinsp;%), and oxygenated OA (OOA, 27&thinsp;%). We found that secondary formation contributed substantially to PM in episodic events, whereas primary emissions were dominant (most significant) on average. The episodic events with the highest NR-PM<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">1</span> mass range of 300-360&thinsp;<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">μg mĝ'3</span> were comprised of 55&thinsp;% of secondary species. On the contrary, a campaign-average low OOA fraction (27&thinsp;%) in OA indicated the importance of primary emissions, and a low sulfur oxidation degree (<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula"><math xmlnsCombining double low line"http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" idCombining double low line"M8" displayCombining double low line"inline" overflowCombining double low line"scroll" dspmathCombining double low line"mathml"><mrow><msub><mi>F</mi><mrow classCombining double low line"chem"><msub><mi mathvariantCombining double low line"normal">SO</mi><mn mathvariantCombining double low line"normal">4</mn></msub></mrow></msub></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svgCombining double low line"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" widthCombining double low line"23pt" heightCombining double low line"14pt" classCombining double low line"svg-formula" dspmathCombining double low line"mathimg" md5hashCombining double low line"8819465d5a6df2253350653799fd2c60"><svg:image xmlns:xlinkCombining double low line"http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:hrefCombining double low line"acp-19-2283-2019-ie00001.svg" widthCombining double low line"23pt" heightCombining double low line"14pt" srcCombining double low line"acp-19-2283-2019-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>) of 0.18 even at RH&thinsp;<span classCombining double low line"inline-formula">&gt;90</span>&thinsp;% hinted at insufficient oxidation. These results suggested that in Shijiazhuang in wintertime fine PM was mostly from primary emissions without sufficient atmospheric aging, indicating opportunities for air quality improvement by mitigating direct emissions. In addition, secondary inorganic and organic (OOA) species dominated in pollution events with high-RH conditions, most likely due to enhanced aqueous-phase chemistry, whereas primary organic aerosol (POA) dominated in pollution events with low-RH and stagnant conditions. These results also highlighted the importance of meteorological conditions for PM pollution in this highly polluted city in North China..