Major components of China's anthropogenic primary particulate emissions

This paper presents the first comprehensive estimates of particulate emissions in China by size distribution and major components. Using a technology-based emission inventory approach, we are able to classify particulate emissions into three size ranges, TSP, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, and identify the contributions of black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), Ca and Mg. Total particulate emissions are estimated to be 27.4 Tg for the year 2001, of which 17.8 Tg are PM₁₀ and 12.7 Tg are PM_2.5. Industrial processes are the major sources of particles over all three size ranges, but residential biofuel use and transportation sources become increasingly important for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5. The industrialized coastal provinces, such as Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei, are the major sources of particulate emissions. The industrialized and developing regions show different characteristic emission ratios of PM_2.5/TSP, (BC+OC)/PM_2.5 and (Ca+Mg)/TSP. In the future, we can expect significant reductions in primary particulate emissions and major changes in the patterns of size and species.