AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Ambient Measurements of Emissions from Biomass Combustion Using a Portable Measurement Backpack
MARILYN WURTH, Brian P. Frank, Jake Lindberg, Nicole Vitillo, Patricia Fritz, Shida Tang, Gil H. LaDuke, David Guerrieri, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Abstract Number: 300 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract Laboratory and ambient evaluations of emissions from some advanced biomass (wood) combustion devices indicate ultrafine particle (UFP) emissions from these devices may be significant in rural areas. This research consisted of source and ambient measurements of a high efficiency, two-stage wood gasification boiler under typical homeowner operational conditions to complement previous stack measurements of various advanced wood combustion devices (emissions diluted approximately 100:1) during controlled laboratory test methods.
A novel measurement method utilizing portable instrumentation measuring PM10, PM2.5, PM1.0, (DRX 8530, TSI Inc.), UV-IR black carbon (microAeth® MA300, AethLabs), UFP particle number concentration (PNC) (Personal Ultrafine Particle Counter, Enmont, LLC), and lung deposited surface area (LDSA µm2/cm3 ) (Partector, Naneos, Inc.) was carried on a backpack to survey personal exposure to ambient emissions within a 100 ft radius of the source. This radius was defined by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation setback requirements for residential-size new outdoor wood boilers or hydronic heaters to reduce air quality impacts to nearby residences. Source stack emissions were measured concurrently for similar parameters and included particle size distributions and size-segregated samples. Preliminary ambient data shows sustained, elevated UFP PNC were measured within the 100 ft radius. The average ambient PNC was greater than average PNC found within 100 ft of a near roadway environment in an environmental justice community. However, the average LDSA measured near the wood combustion source was substantially less indicating a larger particle size distribution above the Partector’s range (20-400 nm). These results may help inform public health exposure assessments applicable to different community settings in urban and rural areas.