Particle-bound PAHs and Particle-extract-induced Cytotoxicity of Emission from a Diesel-generator Fuelled with Soy-biodiesel

Abstract

This study investigates the size distribution of nano/ultrafine particle-bound PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and the PAH-associated carcinogenic potency/cytotoxicity of the exhaust from a generator that is fuelled with D100 (pure petroleum diesel) and S20 (v/v = 20% soy-biodiesel/80% D100) and operated at stable energy output loads (0 and 3 kW). A micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) and a Nano-MOUDI (with aerodynamic diameters of 0.01-18 μm) were used to collect PM samples. The cytotoxicity of the organic solvent extracts of PM samples to the human male monocytic cell strain (U937) was evaluated using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) method. The results indicate that at both loads, using S20 in place of D100 effectively reduced the emissions of DEPs, PAHs in the DEPs, and PAHs-associated BaP eq ; furthermore, the unit mass cytotoxicity of ultrafine particles and nano-particles in the DEPs was also lowered (by an average of 52.6%). Therefore, soybean biodiesel (S20) can be used as an alternative fuel to petroleum diesel to reduce the hazards of emissions from diesel engines to human health.

Influence of an Asian Dust Storm and Southeast Asian Biomass Burning on the Characteristics of Seashore Atmospheric Aerosols in Southern Taiwan

“…Atmospheric particles with diameters of under 10 μm can enter human lungs by respiration, causing or worsening respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (Sardar et al, 2005;Brook, 2007;Franck et al, 2011). Additionally, studies of the in-vitro testing of atmospheric particles have shown that the components of PMs (such as water-soluble ions and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) may be toxic to cells Lin et al, 2008;Tsai et al, 2011).…”

Biological Toxicities of Exhausts from a Diesel-Generator Fueled with Water-Containing Acetone/Butanol and Waste-Edible-Oil-Biodiesel Blends

“…The residues thus obtained were then resuspended in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and stored in a freezer at -80°C until the cytotoxicity assay was performed using porcine human male monocytic cell strain (U937) as part of an in vitro screening system. Further details of the preparation programs can be found in our earlier works (Tsai et al, 2011b(Tsai et al, , 2012.…”

Multi-Year PAH Behaviours in Atmospheric Particulates According to Land-Use Type

“…However, the contribution of natural sources to PAH emission into atmospheric environments may be insignificant (Wild and Jones, 1995). These pollutants are present at ambient temperature in the atmosphere, as the gas-phase or adsorbed on atmospheric particulates, depending upon their chemical and physical properties (Ravindra et al, 2008;Tsai et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2011). Among the hundreds of PAH compounds found in the environment, 16 are classified as priority pollutants by the USEPA (2003).…”