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Atmospheric emission inventory of cadmium from anthropogenic sources
Cheng, K.; Tian, H. Z.; Zhao, D.; Lu, L.; Wang, Y.; Chen, J.; Liu, X. G.; Jia, W. X. & Huang, Z.
Abstract
To demonstrate the atmospheric emission
characteristics of cadmium (Cd), which is considered an
important contaminant to human health and environment, a
comprehensive emission inventory of Cd has been established
by applying the best available emission factors and
activity data for the first time. This inventory covers major
anthropogenic sources in China and a bottom-up approach
is adopted to compile the inventory for the sources where
possible. The total emissions of Cd are estimated at about
743.77 metric tons for the year 2009, of which the contributions
of industrial processes and combustion sources
are approximately 56.6 and 43.4 %, respectively. Nonferrous
metals smelting including copper, lead, and zinc,
ranks as the leading source accounting for about 40.6 % of
the total. The high contribution results from the rapid
growth of nonferrous metallurgical industry that reflects a
new focus of Cd emission pollution in China. Cd emissions
from coal combustion are estimated at approximately
273.69 metric tons, with a share of 36.8 %, in which
industrial coal-burning sector is thought to be the primary
source. Moreover, Cd emissions are spatially allocated
onto grid cells with a resolution of 0.5o x 0.5o, indicating
that the emissions are mainly distributed among the regions
of eastern, central and southern China. In addition, the
uncertainties in the inventory are quantified by using a
Monte Carlo simulation, and the overall uncertainty falls
within a range of -15 to 48 %. It implies that more field
tests for industrial coal combustion and metals smelting
process are very necessary.
Keywords
Anthropogenic emissions; Cadmium; Coal combustion; Nonferrous metals smelting; Spatial distribution; Uncertainty analysis
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