Atmospheric Pollutant Profile of a Road Asphalt Application: Highly Socioeconomic Development-Related Emission

The number of asphalt roads has been rapidly increasing for the past 20 years in China. However, national emission characteristics and evaluation methods of this source have not yet been reported. Sample analysis and field investigation were conducted to establish an emission inventory of road asphalt application in China. The results indicated that emissions of organic compounds increased from 0.07 to 0.82 Tg from 2000 to 2020, and this excluded the organic compounds trapped in the underlying asphalt layer. Emissions of particulate matter, asphalt fumes, and benzo[a]pyrene followed the same trend. The positive correlations between historical trends of socioeconomic indices and emissions of pollutants revealed that socioeconomic development offers benefits but also increases emissions of pollutants. Additionally, emissions of pollutants in 2025 are believed to decrease with an increase in the penetration of warm mix asphalt, given that emissions of pollutants decreased by 0.13 g/kg of asphalt for every 1 °C decrease in application temperature on average.