Quantification of Gaseous and Particulate Emission Factors from a Cargo Ship on the Huangpu River

Exhaust emissions from ships have garnered significant attention because of their impact on global climate change, deterioration of air quality, and potential risks to human health. Consequently, it is necessary and urgent to quantify the gaseous and particulate emission factors (EFs) of ships in a local area. In order to supplement native EF profile data, an inland cargo ship in China was selected for measuring gaseous and particle pollutants under real-world operation modes. The fuel-based EFs of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons (THC) were 2965–3144 g/kg, 8.04–83.53 g/kg, 64.51–126.20 g/kg, and 3.90–23.35 g/kg, respectively. The maximum values of CO EF and THC EF were achieved under idling mode, which were 10.4 and 5.3 times those observed under cruising (500 rpm) mode, as extremely poor engine loads under idling mode can result in low temperature, low pressure, and uneven mixture of air and fuel. Organic carbon and element carbon were identified as the most abundant compositions of particulate matter (PM). Ions and elements were primarily dominated by SO₄²⁻ and S, which can be attributed to the utilization of fuels with high sulfur content. Additionally, hopanes (dominated by 17α(H),21β(H)-Hopane and 17α(H),21β(H)-29-Norhopane) and fatty acids (dominated by n-Hexadecanoic acid and n-Octadecanoic acid) have the potential to serve as tracers for ship exhaust emissions. Pyrene and fluoranthene, two EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were identified as the major constituents of PAHs and accounted for 50% of total PAHs. This finding also provides an explanation for the significant contribution of four-ring PAHs to the total PAHs mass.