Historical inventories and future scenarios of multiple hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) emissions from the iron and steel production industry in China

Junqi Yang; Hezhong Tian; Zhiqiang Fu; Xiaoxuan Bai; Kun Wang; Wenjun Liu; Yiping Lu; Yu Zhou; Hongyan Zhao; Jiangyu Cui; Qinwei Du

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178051

Historical inventories and future scenarios of multiple hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) emissions from the iron and steel production industry in China

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Dec 20:958:178051. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178051. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Junqi Yang¹, Hezhong Tian², Zhiqiang Fu¹, Xiaoxuan Bai³, Kun Wang⁴, Wenjun Liu¹, Yiping Lu¹, Yu Zhou¹, Hongyan Zhao¹, Jiangyu Cui¹, Qinwei Du¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation & Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Atmospheric Environmental Studies, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
² State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation & Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Atmospheric Environmental Studies, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China. Electronic address: hztian@bnu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation & Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Atmospheric Environmental Studies, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Jibei Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Jibei Electric Power Co., Ltd., (North China Electric Power Research Institute Company Limited), Beijing 100045, China.
⁴ Institute of Urban Safety and Environmental Science, Beijing Academy of Science and Technology, Beijing 100054, China.

PMID: 39708751
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178051

Abstract

Iron and steel production (ISP) is one of significant atmospheric pollution emission sources in China. With the implementation of ultra-low emission (ULE) standards, a detailed and new updated emission inventory is urgently needed for better understanding of the temporal trends and spatial variation of emission characteristics. In this study, a unit-based comprehensive emission inventory of multiple hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) for the Chinese ISP spanned from 2012 to 2021, including the conventional pollutants, 13 kinds of Trace elements as well as 2 unconventional but toxic pollutants (PCDD/Fs, F), was dedicatedly developed by integrating dynamic localized emission factors with unit-based information of both the detailed activity level and abatement technology application. Scenario analyses were also conducted to forecast future emission trends up to 2050. The results showed that the lower emission factors owing to ULE retrofits had resulted in different spatial-temporal emission characteristics between outputs and HAPs emissions. The atmospheric emissions of SO₂, NO_X, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, TSP, F and PCDD/Fs from Chinese ISP in 2021 were estimated at about 414.4, 450.5, 1044.3, 2001.6, 3958.8, 9.42 kt and 9.35 kg-TEQ, respectively. And most HAPs emissions were lower than those in 2012. Regarding the spatial distribution, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shanxi, ranked as the top 3 emission provinces. Moreover, different manufacturing processes (sintering, blast furnace, steel making, etc.) contributed with different magnitude for specific species, and the future trends estimation showed a great reducing potential caused by the implementation of ULE abatement measures and structure adjustment in future.

Keywords: Emission inventory; Iron and steel industry; Multiple hazardous air pollutants; Process-specific contribution; Trace element.