Article
Environmental Sciences
Qian Zhang, Ziyi Li, Zhenxing Shen, Tian Zhang, Yujie Zhang, Jian Sun, Yaling Zeng, Hongmei Xu, Qiyuan Wang, Steven Sai Hang Ho, Junji Cao
Summary: This study used Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze the molecular compounds and structures of brown carbon (BrC) emissions from residential coal combustion. The results showed that BrC emissions from anthracite coal had greater light-absorbing capacity compared to emissions from bituminous coal. Additionally, the incomplete combustion of bituminous coal in traditional stoves resulted in higher BrC emissions. The study also found that BrC emissions from traditional stoves contained higher levels of sulfur-containing organics, while BrC emissions from improved stoves had more aliphatic groups.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Patrick Martens, Hendryk Czech, Juergen Orasche, Guelcin Abbaszade, Martin Sklorz, Bernhard Michalke, Jarkko Tissari, Tine Bizjak, Mika Ihalainen, Heikki Suhonen, Pasi Yli-Pirila, Jorma Jokiniemi, Olli Sippula, Ralf Zimmermann
Summary: Residential heating with solid fuels, especially coal, contributes to poor air quality in Central and Eastern Europe. This study analyzed emissions from a single-room heater burning brown coal briquettes and spruce logs, focusing on the presence of inorganic, aromatic, and organic constituents. It was found that emissions from brown coal briquettes combustion were a significant source of levoglucosan, a biomass burning marker, and exhibited defunctionalization and desubstitution characteristics in the emitted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The study also used the concept of island and archipelago structural motifs to describe the fraction of low-volatile organic compounds in particulate emissions, revealing different patterns between brown coal briquette and spruce logwood combustion.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zheng Zong, Xiaolan Shi, Zeyu Sun, Chongguo Tian, Jun Li, Yunting Fang, Huiwang Gao, Gan Zhang
Summary: Stable nitrogen isotope (delta 15N) technology was used to study nitrogen oxides (NOx) from residential combustion in North China. The study found a significant linear relation between the delta 15N-NOx produced from biomass burning and the delta 15N of biomass. The delta 15N-NOx from residential coal combustion was higher and influenced by a mixture of thermal- and fuel-released NOx.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yuan Liu, Chunjie Zhao, Tianyi Yang, Biao Fu, Yuke Wu, Jiamei Zhang, Yong Wei, Xiaoxiao Lu
Summary: Toxic trace metals in dust from residential buildings in a coal-utilization city were analyzed, revealing high concentrations of Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, As, and Cd. Different trace elements tended to be enriched in different floor zones. The study also identified coal combustion, road and coal mining dust, and tire wear particles as likely sources of trace elements in the dust.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Marianna Czaplicka, Justyna Klyta, Boguslaw Komosinski, Tomasz Konieczny, Katarzyna Janoszka
Summary: The study investigated the effect of waste addition on emissions from coal co-combustion, finding that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons had the highest emission levels. The 50% addition of polyethylene terephthalate plastic and medium-density fiberboard showed notable emissions of phenols, alkylphenols, and phthalates.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Min Cui, Yingjun Chen, Caiqing Yan, Jun Li, Gan Zhang
Summary: Residential and industrial emissions are major contributors to ambient PM2.5 in China. This study successfully distinguished between contributions from residential and industrial fuel combustion using real-world source testing and analysis. Valuable information, including chemical profiles and diagnostic ratios, was provided to accurately determine the contributions of these sources to ambient PM2.5.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jinze Wang, Shanshan Zhang, Yan Chen, Ye Huang, Zhenglu Wang, Kang Mao, Weijian Liu, Wei Du
Summary: Emissions from residential coal combustion play a significant role in air pollution and human health, prompting the need for better understanding of emission factors. Field measurements showed that honeycomb briquette combustion emits less pollutants than coal chunk combustion, highlighting the potential for using honeycomb briquettes as a more environmentally friendly fuel alternative.
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ying Zhou, Dawei Huang, Jianlei Lang, Teng Zi, Dongsheng Chen, Yuying Zhang, Shengyue Li, Yufang Jiao, Shuiyuan Cheng
Summary: Rural residential coal combustion has detrimental effects on air quality and health. A new estimation framework and case study revealed significant impacts of combustion modes, coal types, and stove combinations on emissions, while detailed data with high temporal and spatial resolution can support further research on environmental issues and pollution control strategies.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mengxiao Luan, Tianle Zhang, Xiaoying Li, Caiqing Yan, Jianzhong Sun, Guorui Zhi, Guofeng Shen, Xiaomeng Liu, Mei Zheng
Summary: This study examines the relationship between the emission factors of particle-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and particulate matter (PM) in residential coal combustion emissions. The results show that PM mass concentration is not always positively correlated with ROS from coal burning, and the correlation is mainly determined by the compositions of PM. Therefore, PM mass concentration alone may not be the best indicator for assessing health impacts.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Kai Xiao, Qingyue Wang, Yichun Lin, Weiqian Wang, Senlin Lu, Shinich Yonemochi
Summary: The incidence and mortality rate of lung cancer is the highest in Xuanwei County, Yunnan Province, China. One of the key factors contributing to this high incidence is the characteristics of HULIS particles emitted from residential coal combustion in the area, which have not been studied extensively.
Article
Economics
Chang Liu, Bei Zhu, Jinlan Ni, Chu Wei
Summary: Historically, coal has played a crucial role in driving China's economic growth, but has also had a significant negative impact on air quality. The implementation of the Residential Coal Switch Policy has shown progress in reducing pollution, with policymakers increasingly focusing on specific target groups and utilizing target-management tools. However, future challenges include the sustainability of subsidies, lack of investment in building reconstruction, and scarcity of clean energy sources.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Patrick Martens, Hendryk Czech, Jarkko Tissari, Mika Ihalainen, Heikki Suhonen, Martin Sklorz, Jorma Jokiniemi, Olli Sippula, Ralf Zimmermann
Summary: Compared to wood, brown coal briquettes (BCBs) made from Lusatian lignite showed higher emissions of compounds attributed to lignin decomposition, while emissions from pyrosynthesis did not differ significantly. Additionally, BCB combustion resulted in a 20-fold higher emission factor for SO2, known for its deleterious effects. Replacing BCBs with logwood for residential heating may be beneficial for human health due to vast differences in SO2 emissions, although the potential impact from reducing organic emissions is uncertain.
Article
Energy & Fuels
K. B. Larionov, D. V. Gvozdyakov, A. V. Zenkov, A. Zh Kaltaev, A. A. Ulko, V. E. Gubin
Summary: The study found that replacing technical water with pyrolysis water in the combustion of multicomponent coal-water fuel can enhance reactivity, reduce ignition delay time and minimum ignition temperature, decrease NOx emissions while increasing CO and CO2 emissions, significantly increase fuel heat value, and reduce fuel consumption.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Yi Wang, Bin Liang, Dong Li, Hua'an Zheng, Yuan Lei, Haipeng Teng, Adnan Raza Altaf
Summary: This study conducted real-time burning of two clean coals to estimate air pollution characteristics and thermal efficiencies. The results showed that the firepower of clean coals was higher than raw coal, and the thermal efficiencies were significantly increased in an improved stove. The emission of major air pollutants from both coal and semi-coke was also reduced.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jian Wu, Shaofei Kong, Xin Zeng, Yi Cheng, Qin Yan, Huang Zheng, Yingying Yan, Shurui Zheng, Dantong Liu, Xiaoyang Zhang, Pingqing Fu, Shuxiao Wang, Shihua Qi
Summary: The study developed a high-resolution LG emission inventory for China, revealing the impact of LG emissions on the identification of biomass burning sources and emphasizing the importance of non-BB sources in BB source contributions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Limei Ke, Guoqing Feng, Yao Zhang, Xindong Ma, Bin Zhao, Yisheng Sun, Zhaoxin Dong, Jia Xing, Shuxiao Wang, Qian Di
Summary: The study found that prenatal and chronic exposure to PM2.5 in China is associated with cognitive decline and decreased income. Additionally, individuals with low cognitive function and low income are more vulnerable to the negative effects of PM2.5 exposure. Despite improvements in air quality, the long-lasting cognitive impact of prenatal PM2.5 exposure should be considered in environmental policies.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaole Zhang, Xi Chen, Yang Yue, Shuxiao Wang, Bin Zhao, Xinmei Huang, Tiantian Li, Qinghua Sun, Jing Wang
Summary: There is a variation in mortality risk associated with different sources of PM2.5, with industrial and residential combustion sources closely correlated with lung cancer and circulatory diseases.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ke Jiang, Yatai Men, Ran Xing, Bo Fu, Guofeng Shen, Bengang Li, Shu Tao
Summary: Fuel combustion provides basic energy for the society but also produces CO2 and incomplete combustion products that threaten human survival, climate change, and global sustainability. This study evaluates the absolute and relative contributions of different fuels, sectors, and regions to combustion emission-associated climate forcing using updated emission inventories and an earth system model. The results have important implications for energy transition and emission reduction actions to combat climate change, as different fuels and sectors have distinct climate efficiencies and spatial heterogeneity requires differentiated energy utilization strategies and pollution control policies by region and sector.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Noshan Bhattarai, Shuxiao Wang, Qingcheng Xu, Zhaoxin Dong, Xing Chang, Yueqi Jiang, Haotian Zheng
Summary: By measuring the concentrations and stable nitrogen isotopic composition of NH3 and NH4+ in urban Beijing during December 2018, this study found that agricultural and non-agricultural sources nearly equally contributed to NH3 and NH4+. However, there is uncertainty in these results.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Wenjun Meng, Lei Zhu, Zhuang Liang, Haoran Xu, Wenxiao Zhang, Jin Li, Yuanzheng Zhang, Zhihan Luo, Guofeng Shen, Huizhong Shen, Yilin Chen, Hefa Cheng, Jianmin Ma, Shu Tao
Summary: A clean heating campaign in northern China replaced coal with electricity or natural gas among 13.9 million rural households, resulting in significant reductions in PM2.5 emissions and exposure, as well as a decrease in premature deaths attributable to residential emissions. However, the benefits and costs were unevenly distributed, with residents in mountainous areas experiencing less benefit but paying more due to higher costs. Targeted investment and subsidies in less developed areas, as well as promoting less expensive alternatives, could help achieve improved air quality, reduced health impacts, and reduced inequity in future clean heating interventions.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xue Li, Jingye Ren, Rujin Huang, Lu Chen, Yan Li, Xinrui Qiao, Yiling Cheng, Bin Zhao, Dejia Yin, Da Gao, Yele Sun, Fang Zhang
Summary: The concentration of nighttime ozone (O-3) has been increasing in China in recent years, which has become a growing environmental concern. By analyzing data from 1,313 sites in China, it was found that there was a significant increase in nocturnal O-3 concentration during the summer of 2015-2019, indicating an aggravation of nocturnal O-3 pollution. The aggravation of nocturnal O-3 pollution is mainly caused by a decrease in ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration and wet scavenging.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chengrui Liang, Shuxiao Wang, Ruolan Hu, Guanghan Huang, Jinzi Xie, Bin Zhao, Yuyang Li, Wenfei Zhu, Song Guo, Jingkun Jiang, Jiming Hao
Summary: This study investigates the formation and aging of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in winter Beijing. It finds that urban cooking and fossil fuel burning are significant sources of SOA, with cooking SOA produced through photooxidation and aqueous-phase processing, and less oxidized SOA resulting from photooxidation of fossil fuel burning OA and subsequent aqueous-phase aging.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Qiang Wang, Jie Fan, Mei-Po Kwan, Kan Zhou, Guofeng Shen, Na Li, Bowei Wu, Jian Lin
Summary: Since 2013, China has made remarkable progress in transitioning from traditional solid fuels to clean energy. However, this transition has disproportionately affected poor households, leading to concerns about the increasing energy burden. Although there has been a decrease in energy cost inequality, there is a growing disparity in energy burden between rural and urban households.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kaiyun Liu, Kun Wang, Shuxiao Wang, Qingru Wu, Jiming Hao
Summary: In this study, an ensemble model was developed to accurately track carbon flows within China's power system, enabling accurate assessment of CO(2)eq emissions. By integrating coal quality tests, individual power plant datasets, dynamic material-energy flow analysis model, and an extended version of an interconnected power grid model, the study provides accurate quantification of emissions and evaluates emissions related to transmission and distribution losses and interprovincial coal and electricity trade. The study highlights the importance of considering up-to-date life cycle emissions and spatial carbon shifts when allocating emission reduction responsibilities from the national level to provinces.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mingyao Yao, Yue Niu, Shuchang Liu, Yumeng Liu, Haidong Kan, Shuxiao Wang, John S. Ji, Bin Zhao
Summary: Limited research has been conducted on the mortalit burden of long-term ozone exposure on cardiovascular disease in China. This study quantifies the number of premature cardiovascular disease deaths attributable to ozone in Chinese adults in 2050. It highlights the importance of implementing strategies for stricter ozone control and reducing the baseline death rate of cardiovascular disease to mitigate the impacts of ozone on Chinese adults.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Lyuyin Huang, Bin Zhao, Shuxiao Wang, Xing Chang, Zbigniew Klimont, Guanghan Huang, Haotian Zheng, Jiming Hao
Summary: This study establishes the first global anthropogenic full-volatility organic emission inventory, providing chemically speciated and volatility-binned emission factors. The findings reveal the significant emissions of various organic compounds and their sources, contributing to a better understanding of global air pollution and climate change.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xin Tian, Yiling Xiong, Zhifu Mi, Qianzhi Zhang, Kailan Tian, Bin Zhao, Zhaoxin Dong, Shuxiao Wang, Dian Ding, Jia Xing, Yun Zhu, Shicheng Long, Pingdan Zhang
Summary: Different roles in the value chain lead to significant mismatches between social welfare gains and health damage. Atmospheric transport partially reduces these mismatches but increases health damage in densely populated and lower polluted regions. The fairness of social welfare allocation along the value chain, considering the environmental and health effects, is underinvestigated.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Teng Ma, Silu Zhang, Yilong Xiao, Xiaorui Liu, Minghao Wang, Kai Wu, Guofeng Shen, Chen Huang, Yan Ru Fang, Yang Xie
Summary: The rural energy transition is crucial for China's carbon neutrality and air quality improvement. By decarbonizing rural cooking and heating, energy poverty can be reduced, energy consumption can be increased, and health benefits can be improved. However, the transition requires significant costs and more financial support for rural residents in certain areas.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lixu Jin, Wade Permar, Vanessa Selimovic, Damien Ketcherside, Robert J. Yokelson, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Eric C. Apel, I-Ting Ku, Jeffrey L. Collett Jr, Amy P. Sullivan, Daniel A. Jaffe, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Alan Fried, Matthew M. Coggon, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Carsten Warneke, Emily V. Fischer, Lu Hu
Summary: The impact of biomass burning on volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere is uncertain. Using the GEOS-Chem model, researchers found that biomass burning emissions in the western USA varied across different inventories and differed significantly for individual VOCs.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Economics
Dawit Guta, Hisham Zerriffi, Jill Baumgartner, Abhishek Jain, Sunil Mani, Darby Jack, Ellison Carter, Guofeng Shen, Jennifer Orgill-Meyer, Joshua Rosenthal, Katherine Dickinson, Rob Bailis, Yuta Masuda
Summary: Household solid fuel use is detrimental to health and the environment. The Indian government's PMUY subsidy has successfully promoted the adoption of LPG by millions of households. However, there is limited understanding of the decision-making process to reduce solid fuel use after transitioning to cleaner fuels. This study found that factors such as household wealth, social status, education level, and the prevalence of LPG use in the village are positively associated with LPG consumption and the discontinuation of solid fuel use. On the other hand, factors such as distance to LPG refill delivery, household size, and the PMUY subsidy are negatively associated with the share of LPG use.
