High contribution of vehicle emissions to fine particulate pollutions in Lanzhou, Northwest China based on high-resolution online data source appointment

Highlights: • Vehicle emissions were the largest source of particulate matter (PM) pollution. • Contribution of vehicle emissions increased with increasing PM in winter and autumn. • Vehicle emissions contributed most to the elemental carbon. The quantitative estimation of urban particulate matter (PM) sources is essential but limited because of various reasons. The hourly online data of PM_2.5, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble ions, and elements from December 2019 to November 2020 was used to conduct PM source appointment, with an emphasis on the contribution of vehicle emissions to fine PM pollution in downtown Lanzhou, Northwest China. Vehicle emissions, secondary formation, mineral dust, and coal combustion were found to be the major PM sources using the positive matrix factorization model. The seasonal mean PM_2.5 were estimated to be 72.8, 39.2, 24.3, and 43.6 μg·m⁻³ and vehicle emissions accounted for 35.7%, 25.8%, 30.0%, and 56.6% in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. Vehicle emissions were the largest source of PM considering the high PM pollution in winter and its significantly large contribution in autumn. Furthermore, the contribution of vehicle emissions increased with increasing PM in winter and autumn. Vehicle emissions were also the most important source of EC, accounting for 70.3%, 91.0%, 83.5%, and 93.7% of the total EC in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. With the reduction in industrial emissions and increase in vehicle numbers in China in recent years, vehicle emissions are going to be the largest source of urban PM pollution. To sustainably improve air quality in Lanzhou and other Chinese cities, efforts should be made to control vehicle emissions such as promoting clean-energy vehicles and encouraging public transportation.