SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
This article is part of the Research TopicModeling for Environmental Pollution and Change, Volume IIView all 4 articles
A Nationwide Assessment of VOC Emissions and Ozone Formation Potential from China's Printing Industry: A Meta-Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- Shanghai Publishing and Printing College, Shanghai, China
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This study presents a meta-analysis of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and their ozone formation potential (OFP) from China's printing industry, covering 14 major cities across three key regions: the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Bohai Rim. Oxygenated Volatile Organic Compounds (OVOCs) dominated emission profiles, accounting for 44.6% to 81.1% of total emissions. Isopropanol and ethyl acetate were the predominant species, contributing 28.7 ± 5.3% and 24.1 ± 4.8% of total VOCs, respectively. Significant regional variations were observed, linked to ink types and printing processes. OFP values ranged from 78.5 to 643.5 mg m-3, with Changsha exhibiting the highest OFP due to prevalent gravure printing. Pollution control technologies were largely inefficient, with 68% of enterprises using granular activated carbon (GAC) (removal efficiency: 40–75%), whereas regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) exceeded 90% efficiency. We recommend: (a) mandating water-based inks in high-emission processes, such as gravure and flexible packaging printing; (b) upgrading to advanced treatment technologies with >80% collection efficiency; and (c) implementing real-time VOC monitoring. This study provides a scientific basis for formulating region-specific VOC control strategies in China's crucial printing industry, which has an annual output value of ¥1.43 trillion.
Keywords: Printing industry, VOC emissions, Ozone formation potential (OFP), Emission control, Regulatory policy, China
Received: 16 Oct 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jian Zhai, 574807678@qq.com
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