Seasonal and diurnal variations of carbonyl compounds were investigated in the ambient air of a mountainous city in China, from September 2014 to July 2015. The most abundant carbonyl compounds are formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone, propionaldehyde and methacryladehyde (MACR), which were all measured in most samples. The average concentrations of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, propionaldehyde and MACR in the atmosphere in Changsha were broken down into each season: 6.57, 3.29, 3.66, 0.67 and 0.54 μg/m³ respectively during Spring, 14.09, 8.28, 9.02, 1.28 and 0.6 μg/m³, respectively during Summer, 9.24, 5.48, 8.62, 0.73 and 0.62 μg/m³, respectively during Autumn, and 5.88, 4.84, 7.84, 0.87 and 0.26 μg/m³ respectively during Winter. And majority of the species had higher concentration during noon, showing photochemical oxidation and human activities played an important role in diurnal variation. The highest average C1/C2 (formaldehyde/acetaldehyde) ratio was observed in summer (2.10) compared to those (1.33–2.03) in other seasons, implying the photochemical activities had a positive effect on increasing the ratio of C1/C2. In this study, the monthly concentration of formaldehyde produced from isoprene accounts for 4.8%–39.1% of formaldehyde in ambient air. Strong correlation among some carbonyl compounds means that they came from the same sources. Photochemical reaction was the main source of carbonyl compounds in summer and vehicular exhaust (gasoline and diesel engines) in winter. Changsha is not a completely urbanized city and it is rich in vegetation of broadleaf evergreen shrubs. Both atmospheric photochemical reactions and anthropogenic sources, including vehicular exhaust and industrial processes, dominate the levels of carbonyls. The ILTCR and HQ values of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are 1.23E-04 and 1.34E-05, 2.80E-01 and 1.86E-01, respectively.

Owing to the growing public awareness on the safety and aesthetics in water sources, more attention has been given to the adverse effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on aquatic organisms and human beings. In this study, 77 target VOCs (including 54 common VOCs, 13 carbonyl compounds, and 10 taste and odor compounds) were detected in typical drinking water sources from 5 major river basins (the Yangtze, the Huaihe, the Yellow, the Haihe and the Liaohe River basins) and their occurrences were characterized. The ecological, human health, and olfactory assessments were performed to assess the major hazards in source water. The investigation showed that there existed potential ecological risks (1.30 × 10 ≤ RQtotals ≤ 8.99 × 10) but little human health risks (6.84 × 10−7 ≤ RQtotals ≤ 4.24 × 10−4) by VOCs, while that odor problems occurred extensively. The priority contaminants in drinking water sources of China were also listed based on the present assessment criteria.

A sampling campaign was carried out at nine Chinese cities in 2010/2011. Fifteen monocarbonyls (C# = 1–9) were quantified. Temperature is the rate-determining factor of the summertime carbonyl levels. The carbonyl emissions in winter are mainly driven by the primary anthropogenic sources like automobile. A molar ratio of propionaldehyde to nonaldehyde is a barometer of the impact of atmospheric vegetation emission which suggesting that strong vegetation emissions exist in summer and high propionaldehyde abundance is caused by fossil fuel combustion in winter. Potential health risk assessment of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde was conducted and the highest cumulative risks were observed at Chengdu in summer and Wuhan in winter. Because of the strong photochemical reaction and large amount of anthropogenic emissions, high concentrations of carbonyl compounds were observed in Chengdu. The use of ethanol-blended gasoline in Wuhan is the key reason of acetaldehyde emission and action should be taken to avoid potential health risks.

In this study, emissions of carbonyl compounds from the use B50 and B100 were measured with a non-road diesel generator. A total of 25 carbonyl compounds were identified in the exhaust, including 10 with laboratory-synthesized standards. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein were found as the most abundant carbonyl compounds emitted for both diesel and biodiesel. The sulphur content of diesel fuels and the source of biodiesel fuels were not found to have a significant impact on the emission of carbonyl compounds. The overall maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) was the highest at 0 kW and slightly increased from 25 to 75 kW. The MIR of B100 was the highest, followed by diesel and B50, which is consistent with the emission rates of total carbonyl compounds. This suggests that the use of biodiesel blends may be more beneficial to the environment than using pure biodiesel.

The ambient and personal air concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) and carbonyl compounds (CCs) were investigated in Pathumwan district, Bangkok (Thailand), a congested area with a high level of traffic-related air pollution. The potential health risk of three representative groups of street workers (street vendors, motorcycle taxi driver and security guards) exposed to these substances was estimated. The personal air exposure and ambient air samples were collected in the rainy (September 2012) and summer (March 2013) seasons. The 8-h average formaldehyde and acetaldehyde exposure levels for both personal and ambient air concentrations were found to be the major CCs. The highest mean ambient air level of formaldehyde (20.1 μg/m3) was found at the roadside at a busy intersection next to department stores. The highest level of acetaldehyde (9.17 μg/m3) was found in a location with a high traffic load close to the hospital and university. For BTEX, the greatest average concentration was observed around the site located near a bus stop (45.5 μg/m3). In terms of the personal exposure concentrations of CCs and BTEX, no statistically significant differences were found among all sampled locations for street vendors and motorcycle taxi drivers. With respect to the health risk assessment, at a 95% confidence interval (CI) of cancer risk, benzene posed the highest risk followed by formaldehyde and then acetaldehyde (5.36E-06–1.48E-05, 5.58E-06–1.91E-05 and 1.03E-05–5.93E-05 for street vendors, motorcycle taxi driver and security guards) while the 95% CI non-cancer risk values were at an acceptable level. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in the total cancer risk among the different groups of workers. From the health risk assessment, benzene and formaldehyde were the major traffic related air pollutants that likely affected the human health in this area.

Concentrations of carbonyl compounds were evaluated on places impacted by emissions from different fuels and vehicles. In order to evaluate the concentrations, four campaigns during the winter and summer of 2011 and 2012 were performed, inside a covered parking area in a commercial establishment where mainly gasohol and ethanol vehicles are in circulation. Also, measurements were done inside a semi–closed bus station, which is the direct source of emissions from heavy duty vehicles (i.e. buses) burning B3–diesel (3% biodiesel and 97% diesel). The results indicated that acetaldehyde is the main aldehyde emitted by light vehicles due to large use of ethanol in Brazil by these vehicles. In addition, the concentrations found in the bus station revealed that B3–diesel fuel increases the emissions of carbonyl compounds and that of acetaldehyde when compared with results from B0–diesel at same bus station. Possible impacts of changing diesel to B3–diesel indicate an increase of ozone formation. In terms of health, a lower impact was estimated considering only the changes in formaldehyde concentrations.

Concentration levels of 11 lower carbonyls were studied at Montelibretti, a semi-rural area near Rome, Italy, over July-September 2005 and February 2006. In both periods the most abundant carbonyls were acetone and formaldehyde, followed by methylglyoxal, acetaldehyde and hexanal. Monthly variation was apparent with maximum values observed in July, when levels at least a factor two higher compared to the successive months were observed. In summer all carbonyls except acetone were reasonably well correlated among themselves and with ozone. In addition very high formaldehyde/benzene concentration ratios were measured in the summer months compared to February. These findings indicated that photochemical reactions should be the major source of carbonyls in summer. Ranking of carbonyls respect to ozone production potential emphasized the predominance of formaldehyde and methylglyoxal, followed at a distance by glyoxal and acetaldehyde.

Despite the Mediterranean Sea basin is among the most sensitive areas over the world for climate change and air quality issues, it still remains less studied than the oceanic regions. The domain investigated by the research ship Minerva Uno cruise in Summer 2015 was the Tyrrhenian Sea. An overview on the marine boundary layer (MBL) concentration levels of carbonyl compounds, ozone (O₃), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is reported. The north-western Tyrrhenian Sea samples showed a statistically significant difference in acetone and SO₂ concentrations when compared to the south-eastern ones. Acetone and SO₂ values were higher in the southern part of the basin; presumably, a blend of natural (including volcanism) and anthropogenic (shipping) sources caused this difference. The mean acetone concentration reached 5.4 μg/m³; formaldehyde and acetaldehyde means were equal to 1.1 μg/m³ and 0.38 μg/m³, respectively. Maximums of 3.0 μg/m³ for formaldehyde and 1.0 μg/m³ for acetaldehyde were detected along the route from Civitavecchia to Fiumicino. These two compounds were also present at levels above the average in proximity of petrol-refining plants on the coast; in fact, formaldehyde reached 1.56 μg/m³ and 1.60 μg/m³, respectively, near Milazzo and Augusta harbors; meanwhile, acetaldehyde was as high as 0.75 μg/m³ at both sites. The levels of formaldehyde agreed with previously reported measurements over Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere; besides, a day/night trend was observed, confirming the importance of photochemical formation for this pollutant. According to this study, Mediterranean Sea basin, which is a closed sea, was confirmed to suffer a high anthropic pressure impacting with diffuse emissions, while natural contribution to pollution could come from volcanic activity, particularly in the south-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea region.

Airborne carbonyls were characterized from emitted indoor coal combustion. Samples were collected in Xuanwei (Yunnan Province), a region in China with a high rate of lung cancer. Eleven of 19 types of samples (58%) demonstrated formaldehyde concentrations higher than the World Health Organization exposure limit (a 30-min average of 100 μg m⁻³). Different positive significant correlations between glyoxal/methylglyoxal and formaldehyde/acetaldehyde concentrations were observed, suggesting possible different characteristics in emissions between two pairs of carbonyl compounds. A sample in the highest inhalation risk shows 29.2 times higher risk than the lowest sample, suggesting different coal sampling locations could contribute to the variation of inhalation risk. Inhabitants in Xuanwei also tend to spend more time cooking and more days per year indoors than the national average. The calculated cancer risk ranged from 2.2–63 × 10⁻⁵, which shows 13 types of samples at high-risk level. Cumulative effect in combination with different carbonyls could have contributed to the additive actual inhalation cancer risk. There is a need to explicitly address the health effects of environmentally relevant doses, considering life-long exposure in indoor dwellings.

This study investigates the occurrence of carbonyl compounds in rainwater at the city of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. The concentrations of carbonyl compounds (as sum of 14 compounds) ranged from 21.8 to 592 μg/L, mean concentration 119 μg/L. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, hexanal, glyoxal, and methylglyoxal were the dominant compounds. DOC concentrations in rainwater ranged from 0.46 to 21.3 mg/L. UV–Vis and fluorescence spectra characteristics showed variation among rain events. Carbonyl compounds were negatively correlated with temperature exhibited relatively higher concentrations in cold season. They also influenced by storm origin with higher concentrations under terrestrial air masses. Calm conditions enhance the concentrations of DOC. Wash out is an effective removal mechanism of DOC.