AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Black Carbon Emissions from Residential Wood Combustion and Drivers for Further Research
REBECCA TROJANOWSKI, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Ernie R. Lewis, Vasilis Fthenakis, Thomas Butcher, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Abstract Number: 446 Working Group: Biomass Combustion: Emissions, Chemistry, Air Quality, Climate, and Human Health
Abstract Particulate matter (PM) from residential wood combustion (RWC), for both heating purposes and cooking, contains both organic (carbon containing) and inorganic (salts and sulfates) components. These particles impact air quality in terms of health effects and visibility as well as the climate. The climate may be affected indirectly by cloud formation or directly in terms of scattering or absorbing light. Particles that scatter solar radiation increase Earth’s albedo and have a negative climate forcing impact. However, some particles absorb radiation and have a positive climate forcing impact by converting the absorbed energy into heat. Black carbon (BC) and some organic matter (OM) aerosols are known to have this affect.
While advancements in technology such as catalytic wood stoves and boilers, secondary combustion chambers, and automatic fuel-fed appliances (pellets and woodchips) have led to the reduction of total PM, very few studies have studied the BC emissions from these technologies and the overall effect of switching from traditional wood heating appliances to fewer polluting technologies. To better understand the sources of BC, more current information and better emission inventories are needed. Policy-relevant research needs improved BC emission inventories on sources and their operating conditions, and BC mitigation to promote advanced combustion technologies. Characterizing BC from sources will also help reduce model uncertainty and improve predictive power of climate models. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has begun to quantify the BC associated with controlled residential biomass combustion by utilizing laser-induced incandescence; specifically using the single-particle soot photometer (SP2). Columbia University will then work with the data to help update emission inventories and model predictive power.