Impact of battery electric vehicle penetration and corresponding changes
in upstream processes on summer O3 concentrations in Japan
Abstract
A regional meteorology–chemistry model was used to assess the effects
of passenger car conversion to battery electric vehicles (BEV) on summer
O3 concentrations in Kanto (Japan’s most populous region). Four
sensitivity experiments were conducted on different on-road and upstream
(power plant and gas station) emission conditions. Daytime 8-h maximum
O3 decreased by 3 ppb (5%) and 4 ppb (5%) in urban and inland suburbs,
respectively. O3 levels decreased even in urban (VOC-limited regions)
because exhaust and evaporative VOC emissions from vehicle and gas
stations were reduced effectively (especially alkenes from gasoline
evaporation; highly reactive in O3 formation). In the suburbs
(NOx-limited regions), reduction of exhaust NOx by BEV shifting was
significant, but in urban, even only evaporation measures induced almost
the same O3 reduction effect as BEV shifting. The additional emissions
from thermal power plants due to BEV night charging contributed little
to the next day’s daytime O3 on a monthly average basis. However, on
some days, pollutants were stored in the upper part of the stable
nighttime boundary layer and could affect the surface O3 as the next
day’s mixed layer development. Depending on the O3 sensitivity regime
(NOx- or VOC-limited), additional NOx plumes from rural (urban) power
plants tended to increase (decrease) the next day’s O3. However, the
distribution of the regime changes temporally and spatially. The
H2O2/HNO3 ratio was discovered to be a clear indicator for
distinguishing regime boundaries and was effective in predicting
positive or negative O3 sensitivity to the additional emissions from
power plants.