FastFind »   Lastname: doi:10.1029/ Year: Advanced Search  

AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Atmospheres

 

Keywords

  • Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (Q-AMS)
  • domestic wood-burning
  • log wood stove

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution: urban and regional
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Instruments and techniques
Abstract
Cited By (1)
 

Abstract

Organic aerosol mass spectral signatures from wood-burning emissions: Influence of burning conditions and wood type

S. Weimer

Internal Combustion Engines, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Duebendorf, Switzerland

Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland

M. R. Alfarra

Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland

D. Schreiber

Internal Combustion Engines, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Duebendorf, Switzerland

M. Mohr

Internal Combustion Engines, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Duebendorf, Switzerland

A. S. H. Prévôt

Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland

U. Baltensperger

Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland

Wood-burning for domestic heating purposes is becoming more important owing to the increasing use of wood as a renewable fuel. Particle emissions from residential wood combustion contribute substantially to particulate matter during winter. An Aerodyne quadrupole aerosol mass spectrometer was used to study the variability of the mass spectra of organic aerosol particles emitted from the burning of different wood types as a function of burning conditions and burning technologies. Previously found wood-burning mass fragment markers in ambient air and for levoglucosan such as m/z 60, 73, and 29 were confirmed as a feature of wood-burning aerosol. They were enhanced during the flaming phase and reduced in the smoldering phase when burning was conducted in a small wood stove. The mass spectra during the smoldering phase were dominated by oxygenated species and exhibited a strong resemblance to the mass spectrum of fulvic acid which is used as a model compound for highly oxidized aerosol. A strong resemblance between the mass spectra of fulvic acid and organic particles emitted during wood-burning in an automatic furnace was found. In general, we found larger differences in the mass spectra between flaming and smoldering phases of one wood type than between different wood types within the same phase. Furthermore it was observed that during one experiment where white fir bark was burned the contribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to the total organic matter was very high (∼30%) compared to other wood-burning experiments (0.4–2.2%).

Received 22 August 2007; accepted 7 December 2007; published 21 May 2008.

Citation: Weimer, S., M. R. Alfarra, D. Schreiber, M. Mohr, A. S. H. Prévôt, and U. Baltensperger (2008), Organic aerosol mass spectral signatures from wood-burning emissions: Influence of burning conditions and wood type, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D10304, doi:10.1029/2007JD009309.

Cited By

Please wait one moment ...