Volatile organic compounds from typical industries in North China Plain: emissions, air pollution contribution, health risks, and policy implications

Jiqi Zhu; Shoujun Xia; Hejingying Niu; Jian Xu; Yueqian Wang; Xuena Yu; Ling Huang; Kun Zhang; Yangjun Wang; Limin Zeng; Qing Li; Li Li

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2025.109673

Volatile organic compounds from typical industries in North China Plain: emissions, air pollution contribution, health risks, and policy implications

Environ Int. 2025 Jul 9:202:109673. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109673. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jiqi Zhu¹, Shoujun Xia¹, Hejingying Niu¹, Jian Xu¹, Yueqian Wang², Xuena Yu³, Ling Huang¹, Kun Zhang¹, Yangjun Wang¹, Limin Zeng³, Qing Li², Li Li⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, PR China.
² Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
³ College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
⁴ School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, PR China. Electronic address: Lily@shu.edu.cn.

PMID: 40652594
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2025.109673

Abstract

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are key precursors of ozone (O₃) and secondary organic aerosols (SOA), which significantly impact air quality, human health, and climate. As China enhances VOCs emissions control, industry-specific strategies integrating emission characteristics, air pollution contribution, health risks and warming potential are urgently needed. This study measured VOCs emissions in 28 typical enterprises across 13 industries in an industrial city in Noth China Plain (NCP) through in-situ sampling to investigate the comprehensive impact of VOCs from industries. The entropy weight method is further utilized to investigate the integrated impacts and identify priorities of VOCs from industrial sectors. Results indicate that: (1) Current emission factors of industrial VOCs diverged substantially, with petrochemical (15.93 kg/t) and pharmaceutical (135 kg/t) industries being the most obvious emission sectors. (2) Chemical composition of VOCs varied across different industries, with surface coating emitting 69 % halogenated hydrocarbons, petrochemicals releasing 58 % aromatics, and pharmaceuticals discharging 53 % oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs). (3) Ozone formation potential peaked in surface coating (351.9 mg/m³, aromatics-driven) and olefin-rich organic chemical processes, while secondary organic aerosol potential was dominated by petrochemical aromatics (5,750 μg/m³). (4) Health risks are high in resin and plastic, pharmaceutical, and petroleum industries, with acrolein (HQ = 0.96) and acetaldehyde (cancer risk = 3.9 × 10^-7) as priority hazards. (5) Based on detected greenhouse-effect VOCs, Freon-12/11 emissions dominated climate impacts (83 %, 467.1 tCO₂-eq) in the petrochemical industry. (6) Entropy-weighted analysis prioritized petroleum for Tier-1 controls. Our results highlight the necessity of industry-specific emission factor revisions, reactivity-oriented controls, and multi-pollutant synergies in policy frameworks to address air quality, health, and climate challenges in the future.

Keywords: Climate impact; Health risk; Secondary pollution potential; Source profile; Volatile organic compounds.