Current challenges of improving visibility due to increasing nitrate fraction in PM2.5 during the haze days in Beijing, China

Hu, Shuya; Zhao, Gang; Tan, Tianyi; Li, Chengcai; Zong, Taomou; Xu, Nan; Zhu, Wenfei; Hu, Min

Current challenges of improving visibility due to increasing nitrate fraction in PM2.5 during the haze days in Beijing, China

2021

The annual mean PM₂.₅ mass concentration has decreased because of the stringent emission controls implemented in Beijing, China in recent years, whereas the nitrate NO3– mass fraction in PM₂.₅ increases gradually. Low-visibility events occur frequently even though PM₂.₅ pollution has been mitigated significantly, with the daily mean PM₂.₅ mass concentration mostly less than 75 μg/m³. In this study, the non-linear relationship was analyzed between atmospheric visibility and PM₂.₅ based on chemical composition from a two-year field observation. Our results showed that NO3– became the main constituent of PM₂.₅, especially during the haze pollution episodes. A localized parameterization scheme was proposed between the atmospheric extinction coefficient (σext) and major chemical constituents of PM₂.₅ by multiple linear regression (MLR). The contribution of NO3– to σext increased with increasing air pollution, and NO3– became the most important contributor for PM₂.₅ above 75 μg/m³. The visibility decreased with increasing NO3– mass fraction for the same PM₂.₅ mass concentration when PM₂.₅ was above 20 μg/m³. The hygroscopicity of PM₂.₅ increased with increasing mass fraction of hygroscopic NO3–. These results stressed the importance of reducing particulate NO3– and its precursors (for instance, NH₃) through effective emission control measures as well as the tightening of PM₂.₅ standards to further improve air quality and visibility in Beijing.

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