Characterization of gas-phase organics using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry: fresh and aged residential wood combustion emissions

Abstract

International audienceOrganic gases emitted during the flaming phase of residential wood combustion are characterized individually and by functionality using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The evolution of the organic gases is monitored during photochemical aging. Primary gaseous emissions are dominated by oxygenated species (e.g., acetic acid, acetaldehyde, phenol and methanol), many of which have deleterious health effects and play an important role in atmospheric processes such as secondary organic aerosol formation and ozone production. Residential wood combustion emissions differ considerably from open biomass burning in both absolute magnitude and relative composition. Ratios of acetonitrile, a potential biomass burning marker, to CO are considerably lower (∼ 0.09 pptv ppbv −1) than those observed in air masses influenced by open burning (∼ 1– 2 pptv ppbv −1), which may make differentiation from background levels difficult, even in regions heavily impacted by residential wood burning. A considerable amount of formic acid forms during aging (∼ 200–600 mg kg −1 at an OH exposure of (4.5–5.5) × 10 7 molec cm −3 h), indicating residential wood combustion can be an important local source for this acid, the quantities of which are currently underestimated in models. Phthalic anhydride, a naphthalene oxidation product, is also formed in considerable quantities with aging (∼ 55–75 mg kg −1 at an OH exposure of (4.5– 5.5) × 10 7 molec cm −3 h). Although total NMOG emissions vary by up to a factor of ∼ 9 between burns, SOA formation potential does not scale with total NMOG emissions and is similar in all experiments. This study is the first thorough characterization of both primary and aged organic gases from residential wood combustion and provides a benchmark for comparison of emissions generated under different burn parameters

Non-methane organic gas emissions from biomass burning: identification, quantification, and emission factors from PTR-ToF during the FIREX 2016 laboratory experiment

“…We compiled a list of observed NMOGs and identifications to use as a starting point. The papers we referenced included Karl et al (2007), Warneke et al (2011), Brilli et al (2014, Stockwell et al (2015), Müller et al (2016), and Bruns et al (2017), which focus on PTR-MS measurements, and Gilman et al (2015) and Hatch et al (2015Hatch et al ( , 2017, which focus on GC measurements. Gilman et al (2015) used 1-D-GC and focused on the most volatile species, and Hatch et al (2015Hatch et al ( , 2017) used 2-D-GC and included many additional less volatile species.…”

“…Several recent papers have reported the use of highresolution PTR-ToF to measure biomass burning NMOGs in the laboratory Bruns et al, 2017) and the environment (Brilli et al, 2014;Müller et al, 2016). Hatch et al (2017) suggest that PTR-ToF measures a substantial fraction (50-80 %) of total NMOG carbon mass.…”

Development, characterization and first deployment of an improved online reactive oxygen species analyzer

“…In the first set, the instrument was operated in the offline mode using filter samples collected at two different sites: (a) a site influenced by traffic emissions in Milan (northern Italy), where quartz filters were sampled during October 2013 (Perrone et al, 2016); and (b) a rural site in San Vittore (southern Switzerland in an Alpine valley) influenced by biomass burning, where samples were collected during January 2013 (Daellenbach et al, 2017;Zotter et al, 2014). More details on the analysis of the samples can be found in the cited references.…”

“…The second set of experiments was performed at the PSI smog chamber. Beechwood logs were combusted in a residential wood burner (Avant, 2009, Attika), following the procedure described in Bruns et al (2016Bruns et al ( , 2017. The resulting emissions were sampled from the chimney through a heated line (473 K), diluted by a factor of ∼ 8-10 using an ejector diluter (473 K; DI-1000, Dekati Ltd.), and injected into the smog chamber.…”

Open burning of rice, corn and wheat straws: primary emissions, photochemical aging, and secondary organic aerosol formation

“…Akagi et al (2011) updated the emission data for 14 types of biomass burning, and newly identified species were included. Since biomass types and combustion conditions may differ in different studies, reported emission factors are highly variable, especially for agricultural residue burning (Li et al, 2007(Li et al, , 2017Cao et al, 2008;Zhang et al, 2008;Yokelson et al, 2011;Brassard et al, 2014;Sanchis et al, 2014;Ni et al, 2015;Kim Oanh et al, 2015;Stockwell et al, 2016;Bruns et al, 2017;Tkacik et al, 2017). Moreover, previous studies on agricultural residue burning were mostly carried out near fire spots or in chambers with low dilution ratios.…”