Sector-based source profiles, disposal status and health risk of VOCs emissions from the printing industry in Henan, China

The printing industry, which generally consists of both organized and fugitive emissions, is an important anthropogenic source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in China. A comprehensive understanding of sector-based VOCs profiles, disposal status and health risk is crucial for their management. In this study, we measured 117 VOCs species for both the fugitive and organized sectors of 10 printing enterprises and VOCs removal efficiency at 60 end-pipe treatment facilities, with the removal efficiency of secondary pollutants and health risk nearby printing enterprises were assessed in Henan Province of China. From fugitive to organized sector, the proportion of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) tended to decline, accompanied by increasing of alkanes and halocarbons. The VOCs removal efficiencies of end-pipe treatment exhibited a wide range of variation, with average values of 96.75%, 62.57% and 61.85% for regenerative thermal oxidation (RTO), regenerative catalytic oxidation (RCO) and UV oxidation-adsorption (UVOA) technologies, respectively. The removal efficiencies of ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAP) at PF printing were markedly lower than the VOCs removal efficiency. PP printing yielded the highest hazard index (HI = 8.62), while PF printing exhibited the maximum cancer risk (CR = 4.22 × 10⁻⁵), both of which exceeded the generally accepted threshold. Our results reveal significant discrepancies in VOCs speciation between fugitive and organized emissions, and the importance of enhancing the VOCs removal efficiency of end-pipe treatment to mitigate the environmental impacts and human health risks caused by the printing industry.