Characterization of carbon monoxide, methane and nonmethane hydrocarbons in emerging cities of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and in Singapore

• Published in: Journal of atmospheric chemistry 2017-03, Vol.74 (1), p.87-113
• Main Authors: Barletta, Barbara, Simpson, Isobel J., Blake, Nicola J., Meinardi, Simone, Emmons, Louisa K., Aburizaiza, Omar S., Siddique, Azhar, Zeb, Jahan, Yu, Liya E., Khwaja, Haider A., Farrukh, Muhammad A., Blake, Donald R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Alkenes; Atmospheric chemistry; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Carbon monoxide; Chemical compounds; Cities; Combustion; Combustion products; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Emission inventories; Emission measurements; Emissions; Hydrocarbons; Hydroxyl radicals; Methane; Natural gas; Pollution dispersion; Vehicle emissions
• ISSN: 0167-7764; 1573-0662
• DOI: 10.1007/s10874-016-9343-7

We investigate the composition of 63 C 2 -C 10 nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), methane (CH 4 ) and carbon monoxide (CO), in Jeddah, Mecca, and Madina (Saudi Arabia), in Lahore, (Pakistan), and in Singapore. We established a database with which to compare and contrast NMHCs in regions where ambient levels and emissions are poorly characterized, but where conditions are favorable to the formation of tropospheric ozone, and where measurements are essential for improving emission inventories and modeling. This dataset will also serve as a base for further analysis of air pollution in Western Saudi Arabia including, but not limited to, the estimation of urban emissions and long range pollution transport from these regions. The measured species showed enhanced levels in all Saudi Arabian cities compared to the local background but were generally much lower than in Lahore. In Madina, vehicle exhaust was the dominant NMHC source, as indicated by enhanced levels of combustion products and by the good correlation between NMHCs and CO, while in Jeddah and Mecca a combination of sources needs to be considered. Very high NMHC levels were measured in Lahore, and elevated levels of CH 4 in Lahore were attributed to natural gas. When we compared our results with 2010 emissions from the MACCity global inventory, we found discrepancies in the relative contribution of NMHCs between the measurements and the inventory. In all cities, alkenes (especially ethene and propene) dominated the hydroxyl radical (OH) reactivity ( k OH ) because of their great abundance and their relatively fast reaction rates with OH.