AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Impacts of Power Generation on Air Quality in China
JIANLIN HU, Lin Huang, Mindong Chen, Gang He, Hongliang Zhang, Louisiana State University
Abstract Number: 199 Working Group: Source Apportionment
Abstract Power generation is an important source of air pollution in China. In 2012, it contributed 30% of CO2, 33% of NOx, 23% of SO2, and 8% of PM emissions. Five future power development scenarios were considered in this study to see the effects of different plans on air quality in 2030. REF is the business as usual case. CAP represents the trajectory to achieve 80% reduction by 2050 as proposed by IPCC, LOW reflects use of low-cost renewable wind and solar energy, PEAK allows China to peak its carbon emission by 2030, while WEST assumes power plants will be built more in west. The impacts of different scenarios were simulated with CMAQ model in January and August with unchanged emissions from other sectors and same meteorology in 2013. Air quality gets worse in REF in both months compared to 2013. CAP and WEST generally have larger impacts on pollutant concentrations than LOW and PEAK. The four scenarios improve PM2.5 total mass and SO42- in North China, with maximum decreases of over 100 µg m-3 in January and over 10 µg m-3 in August in the Hohhot area. However, PM2.5 total mass and SO42- pollution are worsened in Shandong for CAP and WEST scenarios and in Chongqing for LOW and PEAK scenarios. NO3- and O3 get worsened in the four scenarios in large areas of the North China Plain (NCP), East and South China due to more NH3 available for NO3- formation associated with reduction in SO42- and aerosol radiative effects on UV radiation for O3 formation. Power development plans greatly affect air quality in Beijing, with decrease in PM2.5 and PM10, but increase in O3. Reducing NOx and SO2 combined with NH3 should be considered to reduce contribution of power generation to future air pollution in China.