American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 35th Annual Conference
October 17 - October 21, 2016
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA

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Investigating Gaseous and Coarse, Fine and Ultrafine Particle Emissions from Advanced Biomass-Fueled Appliances Operating Under Different Operational Loads

PATRICIA FRITZ, Brian P. Frank, Shida Tang, David Guerrieri, Marilyn Wurth, Thomas Wainman, Todd Crawford, Nathan Walz, Nicole Vitillo, Jake Lindberg, David Barnes, Thomas Giorgio, Gil H. LaDuke, Thomas Butcher, Rebecca Trojanowski, New York State Dept. of Health

     Abstract Number: 307
     Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods

Abstract
Due to economic and environmental factors, biomass-fueled heat, hot water, and steam systems are increasingly being considered for operation in residential, school and commercial-settings. Biomass combustion emissions are likely to increase with continued financial incentives, and as an alternative to fossil fuel products. As with the mobile source sector, there will be regulatory and market pressure to control particulate and air toxics emissions while increasing energy efficiency. Our work addresses data gaps around the magnitude and type of emissions that will result as the biomass fuel sector expands: the contribution of coarse, fine, and ultrafine PM, as well as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide to local ambient and indoor air quality from biomass-fueled appliances evaluated under laboratory and field conditions. We are evaluating fresh and aged primary and secondary aerosol emissions in ambient and indoor air with respect to particle mass, number and size in real time, and elemental and organic carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content and particle morphology in aggregate and size segregated samples. Evaluating the EC/OC ratio of emissions has been suggested as a tool for particulate source attribution to guide controls to protect public health and to estimate influences on radiative forcing. We are applying and expanding emission measurement techniques previously used to characterize particle emissions from mobile sources to characterize emissions from high efficiency biomass appliances. Our data can contribute to efforts to develop functional policy options that are compatible with public health and protection of the environment as this alternative energy sector expands.