By Zhou Hongchun, Research Department of Social Development, DRC

Research Report, No. 1, 2020 (Total 5745) 2020-1-2

Abstract: Haze issue is a prominent environmental problem that affects residents’ health and happiness. In recent years, the CPC Central Committee with General Secretary Xi Jinping as the core has attached great importance to the protection of the ecological environment and has issued a series of rules and regulations in a bid to keep the sky and water clear and the land clean. The quality of the ecological environment has been continuously improved and the frequency of haze weather has been greatly reduced. Since Premier Li Keqiang launched a drive to fight against haze and other kinds of pollution in 2014, almost the entire country has responded to his call and made efforts to control haze. However, haze, especially the large amount of coagulable particulate matter emissions, still loom up from time to time during winter heating season in northern China. In case of conditions that are difficult to change such as leeward terrain and stagnant weather, it is necessary to control and reduce the emissions of condensable pollutants such as soluble salts, sulfates and organics in flue gas. We need to suit the remedy to the case, eliminate white smoke, i.e. “de-whitening”. De-whitening is not to eliminate “visual pollution” or make “beauty treatment”, but to reduce the emissions of ultrafine particulates in white smoke so as not to aggravate haze pollution.

Key words: haze, control, coagulable particulate matter, de-whitening, policy options