Abstract
Abstract. Residential wood burning contributes to the total atmospheric aerosol burden; however, large uncertainties remain in the magnitude and characteristics of wood burning products. Primary emissions are influenced by a variety of parameters, including appliance type, burner wood load and wood type. In addition to directly emitted particles, previous laboratory studies have shown that oxidation of gas-phase emissions produces compounds with sufficiently low volatility to readily partition to the particles, forming considerable quantities of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). However, relatively little is known about wood burning SOA, and the effects of burn parameters on SOA formation and composition are yet to be determined. There is clearly a need for further study of primary and secondary wood combustion aerosols to advance our knowledge of atmospheric aerosols and their impacts on health, air quality and climate. For the first time, smog chamber experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of wood loading on both primary and secondary wood combustion products. Products were characterized using a range of particle- and gas-phase instrumentation, including an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). A novel approach for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) quantification from AMS data was developed and results were compared to those from GC-MS analysis of filter samples. Similar total particle mass emission factors were observed under high and average wood loadings; however, high fuel loadings were found to generate significantly higher contributions of PAHs to the total organic aerosol (OA) mass compared to average loadings. PAHs contributed 15 ± 4% (mean ±2 sample standard deviations) to the total OA mass in high-load experiments, compared to 4 ± 1% in average-load experiments. With aging, total OA concentrations increased by a factor of 3 ± 1 for high load experiments compared to 1.6 ± 0.4 for average-load experiments. In the AMS, an increase in PAH and aromatic signature ions at lower m / z values, likely fragments from larger functionalized PAHs, was observed with aging. Filter samples also showed an increase in functionalized PAHs in the particles with aging, particularly oxidized naphthalene species. As PAHs and their oxidation products are known to have deleterious effects on health, this is a noteworthy finding to aid in the mitigation of negative wood burning impacts by improving burner operation protocols.
Highlights
Residential wood combustion is a notable source of atmospheric aerosols, in regions with moderate to cold climate, as it is a common heating method
Organic contribution to the total particulate matter (PM) mass was substantial in all experiments, ranging from 22 to 87 % (Table 1), in agreement with the wide range reported in previous studies (Schauer et al, 2001; Hedberg et al, 2002; Fine et al, 2004b; Schmidl et al, 2008; Elsasser et al, 2013)
The total PM emission factor was similar for each experiment, except experiment 1, for which it was over 3 times greater than the other burns due to increased organic emissions (Table 1)
Summary
Residential wood combustion is a notable source of atmospheric aerosols, in regions with moderate to cold climate, as it is a common heating method. Characterization is complicated by burn variability, both during a single fire and between individual fires (Weimer et al, 2008; Heringa et al, 2012; Elsasser et al, 2013; Eriksson et al, 2014) Burn parameters, such as wood type, wood loading and appliance type, can influence emission composition greatly (McDonald et al, 2000; Fine et al, 2002b; Jordan and Seen, 2005; Weimer et al, 2008; Pettersson et al, 2011; Orasche et al, 2012, 2013; Elsasser et al, 2013; Eriksson et al, 2014)
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