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New insights into the formation of ammonium nitrate from a physical and chemical level perspective

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Abstract

High levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is linked to poor air quality and premature deaths, so haze pollution deserves the attention of the world. As abundant inorganic components in PM2.5, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) formation includes two processes, the diffusion process (molecule of ammonia and nitric acid move from gas phase to liquid phase) and the ionization process (subsequent dissociation to form ions). In this study, we discuss the impact of meteorological factors, emission sources, and gaseous precursors on NH4NO3 formation based on thermodynamic theory, and identify the dominant factors during clean periods and haze periods. Results show that aerosol liquid water content has a more significant effect on ammonium nitrate formation regardless of the severity of pollution. The dust source is dominant emission source in clean periods; while a combination of coal combustion and vehicle exhaust sources is more important in haze periods. And the control of ammonia emission is more effective in reducing the formation of ammonium nitrate. The findings of this work inform the design of effective strategies to control particulate matter pollution.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42077191), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. 63213072 and 63213074), the GDAS’ Project of Science and Technology Development (No. 2021GDASYL-20210103058), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2022A1515012165), The Blue Sky Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Urban Transport Emission Research, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Yuting Wei, Xiao Tian, Junbo Huang, Jie Gao, Danni Liang, Yinchang Feng & Guoliang Shi

  2. CMA-NKU Cooperative Laboratory for Atmospheric Environment-Health Research (CLAER), College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Yuting Wei, Xiao Tian, Junbo Huang, Jie Gao, Danni Liang, Yinchang Feng & Guoliang Shi

  3. Institute of Resources Utilization and Rare Earth Development, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China

    Zaihua Wang

  4. Guangzhou Hexin Instrument Co. Ltd., Guangzhou, 510530, China

    Bo Huang

  5. State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology and Instruments, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Air pollutants Monitoring Technology, School of Precision Instrument and Opto-electronics Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Jinxing Liu

  6. Gigantic Technology (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Tianjin, 300384, China

    Jinxing Liu

  7. Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Haofei Yu

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  1. Yuting Wei
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  2. Xiao Tian
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  3. Junbo Huang
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  4. Zaihua Wang
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  5. Bo Huang
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  6. Jinxing Liu
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  7. Jie Gao
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  8. Danni Liang
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  9. Haofei Yu
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  10. Yinchang Feng
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  11. Guoliang Shi
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zaihua Wang or Guoliang Shi.

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Highlights

• Factor analysis of ammonium nitrate formation based on thermodynamic theory.

• Aerosol liquid water content has important role on the ammonium nitrate formation.

• Contribution of coal combustion and vehicle exhaust is significant in haze periods.

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Wei, Y., Tian, X., Huang, J. et al. New insights into the formation of ammonium nitrate from a physical and chemical level perspective. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 17, 137 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1737-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-023-1737-6

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