A technology‐based global inventory of black and organic carbon emissions from combustion

Peng

et al. 2009

The use of coal briquettes and improved stoves by Chinese households has been encouraged by the government as a means of reducing air pollution and health impacts. In this study we have shown that these two improvements also relate to climate change. Our experimental measurements indicate that, if all coal were burned as briquettes in improved stoves, particulate matter (PM), organic carbon (OC), and black carbon (BC) could be annually reduced by 63 ( 12%, 61 ( 10%, and 98 ( 1.7%, respectively. Also, the ratio of BC to OC (BC/OC) could be reduced by about 97%, from 0.49 to 0.016, which would make the primary emissions of household coal combustion more optically scattering. Therefore, it is suggested that the government consider the possibility of: (i) phasing out direct burning of bituminous raw-coal-chunks in households; (ii) phasing out simple stoves in households; and, (iii) financially supporting the research, production, and popularization of improved stoves and efficient coal briquettes. These actions may have considerable environmental benefits by reducing emissions and mitigating some of the impacts of household coal burning on the climate. International cooperation is required both technologically and financially to accelerate the emission reduction in the world.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in view of the decline of BC to OC ratios related to the two deployments, the primary emissions from household coal combustion become more optically scattering (21).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deployment of Coal Briquettes and Improved Stoves: Possibly an Option for both Environment and Climate

Peng

et al. 2009

“…China is thought to be the largest contributor to global BC burden (6,7), and fuel consumption for household heating and/or cooking contributes the main section of BC emissions in China (5,8). For example, according to the estimates by Streets et al (8), residential coal and biofuel combustion contributed 45 and 38%, respectively, of the 1.34 Tg BC emissions from China in 1995.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emission Characteristics of Carbonaceous Particles from Various Residential Coal-Stoves in China

Feng

et al. 2008

175

146

China is thought to be the most important contributor to the global burden of carbonaceous aerosols, and residential coal combustion is the greatest emission source of black carbon (BC). In the present study, two high-efficiency household coalstovesaretestedtogetherwithhoneycomb-coal-briquettesandrawcoal-chunks of nine different coals. Coal-burning emissions are collected onto quartz fiber filters (QFFs) and analyzed by a thermal-optical transmittance (TOT) method. Emission factors (EFs) of particulate matter (PM), organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) are systematically measured, and the average EFs are calculated by taking into account our previous data. For bituminous coal-briquette and -chunk, EFs of PM, OC, and EC are 7.33, 4.16, and 0.08 g/kg and 14.8, 5.93, and 3.81 g/kg, respectively; and for anthracite-briquette and -chunk, they are 1.21, 0.06, and 0.004 g/kg and 1.08, 0.10, and 0.007 g/kg, respectively. Annual estimates for PM, OC, and EC emissions in China are calculated for the years of 2000 and 2005 according to the EFs and coal consumptions, and the results are consistent with our previous estimates. Bituminous coal-chunk contributes 68% and 99% of the total OC and EC emissions from household coal burning, respectively. Additionally, a new model of Aethalometer (AE90) is introduced into the sampling system to monitor the real-time BC concentrations. On one hand, AE90 provides a set of EFs for optical BC in parallel to thermal-optical EC, and these two data are generally comparable, although BC/EC ratios vary in different coal/stove combinations. On the other hand, AE90 offers a chance to observe the variation of BC concentrations during whole burning cycles, which demonstrates that almost all BC emits into the flue during the initial period of 15 min after coal addition into household stoves.

“…Carbonaceous aerosols are mainly derived from incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, and can be simply divided into black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) fractions (4). Most concern about BC aerosol is due to its strong solar absorptivity, which contributes to global warming by increasing the top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing and decreasing the surface albedo of snow and ice, etc (5-7).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Household coal combustion also contributed a large proportion of OC emissions in China (4,(14)(15)(16), and some organic compounds in coal smoke may be responsible for the notable lung-cancer mortality in Xuanwei, Yunnan Province,(18,19) and the high esophagealcancer rate in Linxian, Henan Province (20). Unfortunately, there are still limited experimentally derived data about emission factors of BC and OC (EF BC and EF OC ) in China, especially from household coal combustion, and this has resulted in high uncertainties in the estimates of carbonaceous emissions as well as difficulties in determining the best mitigation strategies (4,(14)(15)(16)(17)21).EF BC and EF OC for household coal burning in China have been shown to be very difficult to measure experimentally (22-27). There are many factors which affect the formation of carbonaceous aerosols in coal smoke.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurements of Black and Organic Carbon Emission Factors for Household Coal Combustion in China: Implication for Emission Reduction

Feng

et al. 2009

141

Household coal combustion is considered as the greatest emission source for black carbon (BC) and an important source for organic carbon (OC) in China. However, measurements on BC and OC emission factors (EF BC and EF OC ) are still scarce, which result in large uncertainties in emission estimates. In this study, a detailed data set of EF BC and EF OC for household coal burning was presented on the basis of 38 coal/stove combination experiments. These experiments included 13 coals with a wide coverage of geological maturity which were tested in honeycomb-coal-briquette and raw-coal-chunk forms in three typical coal stoves. Averaged values of EF BC are 0.004 and 0.007 g/kg for anthracite in briquette and chunk forms and 0.09 and 3.05 g/kg for bituminous coal, respectively; EF OC are 0.06 and 0.10 g/kg for anthracite and 3.74 and 5.50 g/kg for bituminous coal in both forms, respectively. Coal maturity was found to be the most important influencing factor relative to coal's burning forms and the stove's burning efficiency, and when medium-volatile bituminous coals (MVB) are excluded from use, averaged EF BC and EF OC for bituminous coal decrease by 50% and 30%, respectively. According to these EFs, China's BC and OC emissions from the household sector in 2000 were 94 and 244 gigagrams (Gg), respectively. Compared with previous BC emission estimates for this sector (e.g., 465 Gg by Ohara et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2007, 7, 4419-4444), a dramatic decrease was observed and was mainly attributed to the update of EFs. As suggested by this study, if MVB is prohibited as household fuel together with further promotion of briquettes, BC and OC emissions in this sector will be reduced by 80% and 34%, respectively, and then carbonaceous emissions can be controlled to a large extent in China. IntroductionCarbonaceous aerosols have generated wide concern in recent years due to their significant impacts on global and regional climate changes together with negative effects on the environment and human health (e.g., refs 1-3). Carbonaceous aerosols are mainly derived from incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, and can be simply divided into black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) fractions (4). Most concern about BC aerosol is due to its strong solar absorptivity, which contributes to global warming by increasing the top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing and decreasing the surface albedo of snow and ice, etc (5-7). Furthermore, BC aerosols reduce atmospheric visibility, damage the appearance of buildings, and do harm to human health by deeply penetrating into the lungs (3,8,9). OC has the optical property of mainly scattering solar radiation, but its ratio to BC affects the radiative property of BC (10). A large number of studies on OC have focused on their adverse effects on public health, because it contains hundreds of organic compounds and many species are toxic and carcinogenic (11).BC emissions from China have caught great attention since Menon et al. (12) suggested the relationship between the increased BC aero...