Summary
In this chapter, we reviewed mercury emissions from industrial sources in China. The industrial sources included fuel oil for stationary sources; gasoline; diesel and kerosene; biofuel combustion; Grassland/ savannah burning; waste and residue burning; cement production; iron and steel production; caustic soda production; non-ferrous metal smelting (Zn, Pb, Cu, and Au); mercury mining; and battery and fluorescent lamp production. Mercury emission factors from most source categories were obtained according to measurement data from Europe and North America. The mercury emission factor for zinc smelting, which was believed to be the largest industrial source, was adopted from the data of recent studies in China. We used the information published in the literature to estimate the emission of different mercury species. The total mercury emission from industrial sources in China was 253.07 Mg in 1999. Non-ferrous metal smelting (including zinc, lead, copper and gold smelting) is the largest industrial mercury emission source in China and the total mercury emissions reached 167.8 Mg. The total mercury emissions from industrial sources in China in 1995 was 296.4 Mg, increasing to 360.5 Mg in 2003, at an average annual growth rate of 2.90%. Due to lack of field measurement data to quantify mercury emission factors for most of industrial sources, a large uncertainty is associated with the current emission inventory. A number of studies need to be undertaken to reduce the uncertainties. Surveys are needed to evaluate mercury contents in raw materials of different industrial categories. Mercury balance studies are necessary for representative plants of different industrial sources. The speciation of mercury emissions from different industrial sources are also urgently needed in order to better understand the atmospheric fate of mercury emitted from these sources.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
3.8 References
Ebinghaus, R., H. H. Kock, A. M. Coggins, T. G. Spain, S. G. Jennings, and C. Temme, 2002, Long-term measurements of atmospheric mercury at Mace Head, Irish west coast, between 1995 and 2001, Atmospheric Environment, 36, 5267–5276.
Editorial Committee of China Mechanical Industry Yearbook (ECCMIY), 2000. China Mechanical Industry Yearbook, 1986–1999. China Mechanical Industry Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Fang, F., Wang, Q., Liu, R., Ma, Z., Hao, Q., 2001. Atmospheric particulate mercury in Changchun City, China. Atmospheric Environment 35, 4265–4272.
Feng, X., 2005. Mercury pollution in China-an overview. In: Pirrone, N., Mahaffey, K. (Eds.), Dynamics of Mercury Pollution on Regional and Global Scales: Atmospheric Processes, Human Exposure Around the World. Springer Publishers, Norwell, MA, USA, pp. 657–678.
Feng, X., Li, G., Qiu, G., 2004. A preliminary study on mercury contaminations to the environment from artisanal zinc smelting using indigenous method in Hezhang county, Guizhou, China. Part I mercury emissions from zinc smelting and its influences on the surface water. Atmospheric Environment 38, 6223–6230.
Feng, X., Shang, L., Wang, S., Tang, S., Zheng, W., 2004a. Temporal variation of total gaseous mercury in the air of Guiyang, China. Journal of Geophysical Research 109, D03303.
Feng, X., Sommar, J., Lindqvist, O., Hong, Y., 2002. Occurrence, emissions and deposition of mercury during coal combustion in the province Guizhou. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 139, 311–324.
Feng, X., Tang, S., Shang, L., Yan, H., Sommar, J., Lindqvist, O., 2003. Total gaseous mercury in the atmosphere of Guiyang, PR China. The Science of the Total Environment 304, 61–72.
Feng, X., Yan, H., Wang, S., Qiu, G., Tang, S., Shang, L., Dai, Q., Hou, Y., 2004b. Seasonal variation of gaseous mercury exchange rate between air and water surface over Baihua reservoir, Guizhou, China. Atmospheric Environment 38, 4721–4732.
Friedli, H.R., Radke, L.F., Lu, J.Y., 2001. Mercury in smoke from biomass fires. Geophysical Research Letters 28 (17), 3223–3226.
Friedli, H.R., Radke, L.F., Lu, J.Y., Banic, C.M., Leaitch, W.R., MacPherson, J.I., 2003a. Mercury emissions from burning of biomass from temperate North American forests: laboratory and airborne measurements. Atmospheric Environment 37, 253–267.
Friedli, H.R., Radke, L.F., Prescott, R., Hobbs, P.V., Sinha, P., 2003b. Mercury emissions from the August 2001 wildfires in Washington State and an agricultural waste fire in Oregon and atmospheric mercury budget estimates. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17 (2), 1039.
Fu X., Feng X., Zhu W., Wang S., Lu J., Total gaseous mercury concentrations in ambient air in the eastern slope of Mt. Gongga, South-Eastern fringe of the Tibetan plateau, China. Atmospheric Environment, 2008 (in press)
Jiang J., 2006, The technological progress and the situation of Zinc smelting in China, 5: 19-23 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Li G., 2007, Mercury emission from Zinc Smelting in China and environmental impacts, PhD thesis, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, pp 1-110.
Li P., Feng X., Qiu G., Wang S., 2006, Estimate of mercury emissions from artisanal mercury mining in Wuchuan, Guizhou, China. Environmental Science, 27(5): 837-840 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Lindberg S., Bullock R., Ebinghaus R., Engstrom D., Feng X., Fitzgerald W., Pirrone N.,, Prestbo E., and Seigneur C., 2007, A synthesis of progress and uncertainties in attributing the sources of mercury in deposition. Ambio, 36(1): 19-32.
Liu, S., Nadim, F., Perkins, C., Carley, R.J., Hoag, G.E., Lin, Y., Chen, L., 2002. Atmospheric mercury monitoring survey in Beijing, China. Chemosphere 48, 97–107.
National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), P.R. China, 2000. China Statistical Yearbook (1999). China Statistics Press, Beijing, China.
Pacyna, E.G., Pacyna, J.M., 2002. Global emission of mercury from anthropogenic sources in 1995. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 137, 149–165.
Pirrone N., Keeler G.J., Nriagu J.O. 1996. Regional differences in worldwide emissions of mercury to the atmosphere. Atmospheric Environment 30(17), 2981-2987.
Qi, X., 1997. Development and application of an information administration system on mercury. Masters Dissertation, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China (in Chinese with abstract in English).
Schroeder, W. H., A. Steffen, G. Lawson, and W. Strachan, 2001, Mercury measurements at Alert, in Synopsis of Research Conducted Under the 2000/2001 Northern Contaminants Program, edited by S. Kalhok, pp. 130– 135, Indian and North. Affairs Can., Ottawa, Ontario.
Streets, D. G., Hao J., Wang S., Wu Y., 2008, Mercury emission from coal combustion in China. Edited by Nicola Pirrone, UNEP MFTP Report, pp ??
Streets, D.G., Bond, T.C., Carmichael, G.R., Fernandes, S.D., Fu, Q., He, D., Klimont, Z., Nelson, S.M., Tsai, N.Y., Wang, M.Q., Woo, J.-H., Yarber, K.F., 2003a. An inventory of gaseous and primary aerosol emissions in Asia in the year 2000. Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (D21), 8809.
Streets, D.G., Yarber, K.F., Woo, J.-H., Carmichael, G.R., 2003b. Biomass burning in Asia: annual and seasonal estimates and atmospheric emissions. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17 (4), 1099.
Streets, D.G., Hao, J.M., Wu, Y., Jiang, J.K., Chan, M., Tian, H.Z., Feng, X.B. Anthropogenic mercury emissions in China. Atmos. Environ. 2005, 39, 7789-7806.
UNECE/EMEP, 2004. Atmospheric Emission Inventory Guidebook, third ed http://reports.eea.eu.int/EMEPCORINAIR4/en/page002.html.
US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), 1995. Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors, AP-42, fifth ed., vol.I: Stationary Point and Area Sources.
US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), 1997. Mercury Study Report to Congress, vol. II: An Inventory of Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions in the United States. EPA-452/R-97-004.
Wan Q., Feng X., Lu J., Zheng W., Han S., Xu H., Total gaseous mercury in ambient air at a remote site in Changbai Mountain area, Northeast China. Journal of Geophysical Research, 2008 (in review)
Wu, Y., Wang, S., Streets, D.G., Hao, J., Chan, M., Jiang, J. Trends in anthropogenic mercury emissions in China from 1995 to 2003. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 5312-5318.
Xiu, G.L., Jin, Q., Zhang, D., Shi, S., Huang, X., Zhang, W., Bao, L., Gao, P., Chen, B., 2005. Characterization of sizefractionated particulate mercury in Shanghai ambient air.Atmospheric Environment 39, 419–427.
Zhou, D., Dai, Y., Yu, C., 2003. China's Sustainable Energy Scenarios 2002. China Environmental Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Jiang, J., 2004. Preliminary studies on emission and control of atmosphere mercury in China. Masters Dissertation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China (in Chinese with abstract in English).
National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS), P.R. China, 2000. China Statistical Yearbook (1999). China Statistics Press, Beijing, China.
Editorial Committee of China Nonferrous Metals Industry (ECCNMI), 2000. China Nonferrous Metals Industry Statistical Yearbook, 1999. China Nonferrous Metals Industry Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Yang, F., Liu, J., Wang, R., 2003. Estimation on the amount of mercury used in domestic batteries and potential amount of mercury emissions in China. Shanghai Environmental Sciences 22 (5), 322–328 (in Chinese with abstract in English
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer-Verlag New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Feng, X., Streets, D., Hao, J., Wu, Y., Li, G. (2009). Mercury emissions from industrial sources in China. In: Mason, R., Pirrone, N. (eds) Mercury Fate and Transport in the Global Atmosphere. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93958-2_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93958-2_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-93957-5
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-93958-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)