AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Critical Review of Particulate Matter Emitted from Biomass Cookstoves
YUNGANG WANG, Ashok Gadgil, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Abstract Number: 42 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract About 2.7 billion people worldwide currently reply on directly burning biomass for their primary cooking fuel. Emissions from biomass cookstoves have significant environmental, climate and health impacts. The particulate matter (PM) emission recently made headlines. It causes 1.6 million deaths mostly women and children per year. It also contributes to visibility degradation and global warming. In this study, we present a critical review on current available information from peer reviewed publications related to PM emitted from both traditional (Three Stone Fire) and improved biomass cookstoves. The review focuses on three key topics: (1) Measurement techniques; (2) Physical and chemical characteristics; and (3) Emission rates. The many studies conducted reveal a wide range of conclusions, even for the same type of cookstove. These divergences may be the result of using different sampling locations (laboratory vs. field) and measurement technologies. There is a shortage of field measurement data on the PM chemical composition, although recent work has begun to remedy this weakness. The conclusions include a number of recommendations for use in design of future studies.