Emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds from combustion of domestic fuels in Delhi, India

Stewart, Gareth J.; Acton, W. Joe F.; Nelson, Beth S.; Vaughan, Adam; Hopkins, James R.; Arya, Rahul; Mondal, Arnab; Jangirh, Ritu; Ahlawat, Sakshi; Yadav, Lokesh; Sharma, S.K.; Dunmore, Rachel E.; Yunus, Siti S. M.; Hewitt, C. Nicholas; Nemitz, Eiko; Mullinger, Neil; Gadi, Ranu; Sahu, L. K.; Rickard, Andrew R.; Lee, James; Mandal, T. K.; Hamilton, Jacqueline F.

doi:10.5194/acp-21-2383-2021

Cited by 36 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 141 publications

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“…Whilst SPE samples for these compounds remained semiquantitative, due to breakthrough, the detection of high emissions of phenolics and furanics in the gas phase from burning was in line with recently published studies (Hatch et al, 2015;Stockwell et al, 2015;Koss et al, 2018). Relatively low levels of total quantified material within the aerosol phase was in line with current literature (Jen et al, 2019), but meant that this analysis was not entirely reflective of the organic fraction for complex samples.…”

Section: Compositionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…VOCs react to form ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds (I/SVOCs) are also a significant emission from biomass burning (Stockwell et al, 2015;Koss et al, 2018). I/SVOCs are an important class of air pollutant due to their contribution to aerosol formation (Bruns et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emissions of intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds from domestic fuels used in Delhi, India

et al. 2021

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Abstract. Biomass burning emits significant quantities of intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds (I/SVOCs) in a complex mixture, probably containing many thousands of chemical species. These components are significantly more toxic and have poorly understood chemistry compared to volatile organic compounds routinely quantified in ambient air; however, analysis of I/SVOCs presents a difficult analytical challenge. The gases and particles emitted during the test combustion of a range of domestic solid fuels collected from across Delhi were sampled and analysed. Organic aerosol was collected onto Teflon (PTFE) filters, and residual low-volatility gases were adsorbed to the surface of solid-phase extraction (SPE) discs. A new method relying on accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) coupled to comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC–ToF-MS) was developed. This highly sensitive and powerful analytical technique enabled over 3000 peaks from I/SVOC species with unique mass spectra to be detected. A total of 15 %–100 % of gas-phase emissions and 7 %–100 % of particle-phase emissions were characterised. The method was analysed for suitability to make quantitative measurements of I/SVOCs using SPE discs. Analysis of SPE discs indicated phenolic and furanic compounds were important for gas-phase I/SVOC emissions and levoglucosan to the aerosol phase. Gas- and particle-phase emission factors for 21 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were derived, including 16 compounds listed by the US EPA as priority pollutants. Gas-phase emissions were dominated by smaller PAHs. The new emission factors were measured (mg kg−1) for PAHs from combustion of cow dung cake (615), municipal solid waste (1022), crop residue (747), sawdust (1236), fuelwood (247), charcoal (151) and liquefied petroleum gas (56). The results of this study indicate that cow dung cake and municipal solid waste burning are likely to be significant PAH sources, and further study is required to quantify their impact alongside emissions from fuelwood burning.

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Section: Compositionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emissions of intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds from domestic fuels used in Delhi, India

et al. 2021

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“…There have been several recent studies focused on understanding VOC emissions from sources specific to Delhi. Stewart et al (2021b) studied the types of intermediatevolatility and semi-volatile gases released from solid fuels in Delhi to better understand their potential impact on air quality, and Stewart et al (2021c) produced highly speciated nonmethane VOC (NMVOC) emission factors from a range of solid fuel combustion sources characteristic to Delhi, which were used by Stewart et al (2021d) in regional policy models and global chemical transport models. Stewart et al (2021e) found that fuel wood, crop residue, cow dung cake, and municipal solid waste burning were shown to be 30, 90, 120, and 230 times more reactive with the OH radical, which can lead to O 3 formation, than liquified petroleum gas (LPG), and may be one the factors for the high O 3 levels, and overall poor air quality, observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ ozone production is highly sensitive to volatile organic compounds in Delhi, India

et al. 2021

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Abstract. The Indian megacity of Delhi suffers from some of the poorest air quality in the world. While ambient NO2 and particulate matter (PM) concentrations have received considerable attention in the city, high ground-level ozone (O3) concentrations are an often overlooked component of pollution. O3 can lead to significant ecosystem damage and agricultural crop losses, and adversely affect human health. During October 2018, concentrations of speciated non-methane hydrocarbon volatile organic compounds (C2–C13), oxygenated volatile organic compounds (o-VOCs), NO, NO2, HONO, CO, SO2, O3, and photolysis rates, were continuously measured at an urban site in Old Delhi. These observations were used to constrain a detailed chemical box model utilising the Master Chemical Mechanism v3.3.1. VOCs and NOx (NO + NO2) were varied in the model to test their impact on local O3 production rates, P(O3), which revealed a VOC-limited chemical regime. When only NOx concentrations were reduced, a significant increase in P(O3) was observed; thus, VOC co-reduction approaches must also be considered in pollution abatement strategies. Of the VOCs examined in this work, mean morning P(O3) rates were most sensitive to monoaromatic compounds, followed by monoterpenes and alkenes, where halving their concentrations in the model led to a 15.6 %, 13.1 %, and 12.9 % reduction in P(O3), respectively. P(O3) was not sensitive to direct changes in aerosol surface area but was very sensitive to changes in photolysis rates, which may be influenced by future changes in PM concentrations. VOC and NOx concentrations were divided into emission source sectors, as described by the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) v5.0 Global Air Pollutant Emissions and EDGAR v4.3.2_VOC_spec inventories, allowing for the impact of individual emission sources on P(O3) to be investigated. Reducing road transport emissions only, a common strategy in air pollution abatement strategies worldwide, was found to increase P(O3), even when the source was removed in its entirety. Effective reduction in P(O3) was achieved by reducing road transport along with emissions from combustion for manufacturing and process emissions. Modelled P(O3) reduced by ∼ 20 ppb h−1 when these combined sources were halved. This study highlights the importance of reducing VOCs in parallel with NOx and PM in future pollution abatement strategies in Delhi.

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“…According to Stewart et al . (2021), manure cake had a higher emissions factor than fuelwood and liquefied petroleum gas, suggesting that the contribution to environmental pollution from burning manure cake is substantial.…”

Section: Social Cultural and Economic Determinants Of Nitrogen Pollut...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The manure is mixed with crop residue and sun-dried in the form of mid-sized pellets (Sfez et al, 2017;Prasad et al, 2019). According to Stewart et al (2021), manure cake had a higher emissions factor than fuelwood and liquefied petroleum gas, suggesting that the contribution to environmental pollution from burning manure cake is substantial.…”

Section: Economic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen pollution from cattle production in India: a review of the social, cultural and economic influences

et al. 2022

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Livestock plays a crucial role in food and nutrition security. However, livestock production accounts for 0.18 of global greenhouse gas emissions. India has one of the highest livestock densities globally, mainly produced under traditional systems. Specifically, the emission and particularly nitrogen losses from cattle in traditional systems cannot be ignored. Nitrogen emission is substantial when cattle roam free and waste is not collected or managed efficiently. This paper reviews the literature to piece together the available information on nitrogen emissions from cattle in India to synthesize the evidence, identify gaps and contribute to further understanding of the problem. At the same time, the paper highlights the solutions to reduce nitrogen pollution from cattle production in India. The main findings are that most cattle in India are not reared to provide meat protein. The implication is that reactive nitrogen per capita consumption is lower than most developed countries. However, there are substantial inefficiencies in feed conversion, feed nitrogen use and manure management in India. As a result, nitrogen losses and wastage are considerable in the different production systems. Furthermore, the review suggests that social, cultural and economic factors such as convergent social behaviour, urbanization, regulations, changing consumption patterns, the demand for cheap fuel sources, culture and religion influence the production systems and, consequently, the emissions from livestock. Suggested solutions to reduce nitrogen pollution from cattle production in India are improving livestock productivity, adopting better feeding, manure and pasture management practices and using behavioural nudges.

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Emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds from combustion of domestic fuels in Delhi, India

Cited by 36 publications

References 141 publications

Emissions of intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds from domestic fuels used in Delhi, India

Emissions of intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds from domestic fuels used in Delhi, India

In situ ozone production is highly sensitive to volatile organic compounds in Delhi, India

Nitrogen pollution from cattle production in India: a review of the social, cultural and economic influences

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