Biomass burning (BB) is a significant air pollution source, with global, regional and local impacts on air quality, public health and climate. Worldwide an extensive range of studies has been ...conducted on almost all the aspects of BB, including its specific types, on quantification of emissions and on assessing its various impacts. China is one of the countries where the significance of BB has been recognized, and a lot of research efforts devoted to investigate it, however, so far no systematic reviews were conducted to synthesize the information which has been emerging. Therefore the aim of this work was to comprehensively review most of the studies published on this topic in China, including literature concerning field measurements, laboratory studies and the impacts of BB indoors and outdoors in China. In addition, this review provides insights into the role of wildfire and anthropogenic BB on air quality and health globally. Further, we attempted to provide a basis for formulation of policies and regulations by policy makers in China.
Open field biomass burning causes severe air pollution, public health risk and potential climate impact. a) Photo taken in Changzhou rural area on June 10, 2015; b) Photo taken in Hebei rural area on October 23, 2013; c) A traditional indoor burner in rural area in China; d) Tar ball emitted from biomass burning. Display omitted
•This review discusses wildfire and anthropogenic emission from biomass burning in China.•Field observations and laboratory studies on public health and climate impacts of biomass burning•Atmospheric process of biomass burning plumes and their transport•Proposed research priorities and insights about biomass burning in China
The chemical composition and evolution of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the atmosphere represents one of the largest uncertainties in our current understanding of air quality. Despite vast ...research, the toxicological mechanisms relating to adverse human health effects upon exposure to particulate matter are still poorly understood. Particle-bound reactive oxygen species (ROS) may substantially contribute to observed health effects by influencing aerosol oxidative potential (OP). The role of radicals in both the formation and aging of aerosol, as well as their contribution to aerosol OP, remains highly uncertain. The profluorescent spin trap BPEAnit (9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracenenitroxide), previously utilized to study combustion-generated aerosol, has been applied to provide the first estimate of particle-bound radical concentrations in SOA. We demonstrate that SOA from different atmospherically important VOC precursors have different particle-bound radical concentrations, estimated for the ozonolysis of α-pinene (0.020 ± 0.0050 nmol/μg), limonene (0.0059 ± 0.0010 nmol/μg), and β-caryophyllene (0.0025 ± 0.00080 nmol/μg), highlighting the potential importance of OH-initiated formation of particle-bound organic radicals. Additionally, the lifetime of particle-bound radical species in α-pinene SOA was estimated, and a pseudo-first-order rate constant of k = 7.3 ± 1.7 × 10–3 s–1 was derived, implying a radical lifetime on the order of minutes.
ABSTRACT
Particulate matter (PM) emissions involve a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles suspended in a gas, where it is noted that PM emissions from diesel engines are a major contributor ...to the ambient air pollution problem. While epidemiological studies have shown a link between increased ambient PM emissions and respiratory morbidity and mortality, studies of this design are not able to identify the PM constituents responsible for driving adverse respiratory health effects. This review explores in detail the physico‐chemical properties of diesel PM (DPM) and identifies the constituents of this pollution source that are responsible for the development of respiratory disease. In particular, this review shows that the DPM surface area and adsorbed organic compounds play a significant role in manifesting chemical and cellular processes that if sustained can lead to the development of adverse respiratory health effects. The mechanisms of injury involved included inflammation, innate and acquired immunity, and oxidative stress. Understanding the mechanisms of lung injury from DPM will enhance efforts to protect at‐risk individuals from the harmful respiratory effects of air pollutants.
Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and Aerodyne aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) mass spectra are widely used to quantify organic aerosol (OA) elemental composition, oxidation state, ...and major environmental sources. The OA CO2 + fragment is among the most important measurements for such analyses. Here, we show that a non-OA CO2 + signal can arise from reactions on the particle vaporizer, ion chamber, or both, induced by thermal decomposition products of inorganic salts. In our tests (eight instruments, n = 29), ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) causes a median CO2 + interference signal of +3.4% relative to nitrate. This interference is highly variable between instruments and with measurement history (percentiles P 10–90 = +0.4 to +10.2%). Other semi-refractory nitrate salts showed 2–10 times enhanced interference compared to that of NH4NO3, while the ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) induced interference was 3–10 times lower. Propagation of the CO2 + interference to other ions during standard AMS and ACSM data analysis affects the calculated OA mass, mass spectra, molecular oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C), and f 44. The resulting bias may be trivial for most ambient data sets but can be significant for aerosol with higher inorganic fractions (>50%), e.g., for low ambient temperatures, or laboratory experiments. The large variation between instruments makes it imperative to regularly quantify this effect on individual AMS and ACSM systems.
Sea spray aerosol (SSA) particles produced from the ocean surface in regions of biological activity can vary greatly in size, number and composition, and in their influence on cloud formation. Algal ...species such as phytoplankton can alter the SSA composition. Numerous studies have investigated nascent SSA properties, but all of these have focused on aerosol particles produced by seawater from noncoral related phytoplankton and in coastal regions. Bubble chamber experiments were performed with seawater samples taken from the reef flat around Heron Island in the Great Barrier Reef during winter 2011. Here we show that the SSA from these samples was composed of an internal mixture of varying fractions of sea salt, semivolatile organics, as well as nonvolatile (below 550°C) organics. A relatively constant volume fraction of semivolatile organics of 10%–13% was observed, while nonvolatile organic volume fractions varied from 29% to 49% for 60 nm SSA. SSA organic fractions were estimated to reduce the activation ratios of SSA to cloud condensation nuclei by up to 14% when compared with artificial sea salt. Additionally, a sea‐salt calibration was applied so that a compact time‐of‐flight aerosol mass spectrometer could be used to quantify the contribution of sea salt to submicron SSA, which yielded organic volume fractions of 3%–6%. Overall, these results indicate a high fraction of organics associated with wintertime Aitken mode SSA generated from Great Barrier Reef seawater. Further work is required to fully distinguish any differences coral reefs have on SSA composition when compared to open oceans.
Key Points
Organics in the Great Barrier Reef can influence sea spray aerosol composition
Coral reef sea spray aerosol can have a large nonvolatile organic fraction
Organic components in sea spray aerosol suppress water uptake
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace of bubble chambers containing branches of live coral in filtered reef seawater were analysed using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry ...(GC-MS). When the coral released mucus it was a source of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and isoprene; however, these VOCs were not emitted to the chamber headspace from mucus-free coral. This finding, which suggests that coral is an intermittent source of DMS and isoprene, was supported by the observation of occasional large pulses of atmospheric DMS (DMS
a
) over Heron Island reef on the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia, in the austral winter. The highest DMS
a
pulse (320 ppt) was three orders of magnitude less than the DMS mixing ratio (460 ppb) measured in the headspace of a dynamically purged bubble chamber containing a mucus-coated branch of
Acropora aspera
indicating that coral reefs can be strong point sources of DMS
a
. Static headspace GC-MS analysis of coral fragments identified mainly DMS and seven other minor reduced sulfur compounds including dimethyl disulfide, methyl mercaptan, and carbon disulfide, while coral reef seawater was an indicated source of methylene chloride, acetone, and methyl ethyl ketone. The VOCs emitted by coral and reef seawater are capable of producing new atmospheric particles < 15 nm diameter as observed at Heron Island reef. DMS and isoprene are known to play a role in low-level cloud formation, so aerosol precursors such as these could influence regional climate through a sea surface temperature regulation mechanism hypothesized to operate over the GBR.
This manuscript details the application of a profluorescent nitroxide (PFN) for the online quantification of radical concentrations on particulate matter (PM) using an improved Particle Into ...Nitroxide Quencher (PINQ). A miniature flow-through fluorimeter developed specifically for use with the 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene-nitroxide (BPEAnit) probe was integrated into the PINQ, along with automated gas phase corrections through periodic high efficiency particle arrestor (HEPA) filtering. The resulting instrument is capable of unattended sampling and was operated with a minimum time resolution of 2.5 min. Details of the fluorimeter design and examples of data processing are provided, and results from a chamber study of side-stream cigarette smoke and ambient monitoring campaign in Guangzhou, China are presented. Primary cigarette smoke was shown to have both short-lived (t1/2 = 27 min) and long-lived (t1/2 = indefinite) PM-bound reactive oxygen species (ROS) components which had previously only been observed in secondary organic aerosol (SOA).
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•N and S content in fuel affected its physical properties.•N and S content reduced fuel high heating value and flash point.•N and S containing fuels emitted lower CO and HC.•N and S ...containing fuels boosted NOx and SO2.•Fuel sulphur content resulted in an increase of PM2.5.
Surrogate fuels for hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) algae biocrude depicting its nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) content were simulated in this study and tested in a multi-cylinder diesel engine. The influence of N and S presence in the fuel on its combustion behaviour and emissions profile was investigated. To our knowledge, N and S-containing fuels in reference to HTL algae biocrude, have not been reported in an internal combustion engine in the literature, which is the unique and novelty of the current work. The presence of N and S in the fuel affected its physical properties. The density of the surrogate fuel was slightly higher than that of diesel, while viscosity, in general, was maintained. The flash point of the N and S-fuel was reduced in the presence of N. N had a stronger effect than S in reducing the lower heating value (LHV) of the surrogate fuel than that of diesel. Compared to diesel, emissions of both carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC) were lower for N and S-containing fuels. Increasing nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions were observed with increasing N and S content, respectively, in the fuels. A significant increase in particle mass (PM) emissions was observed at high concentrations of N (4.5 wt%) and S (0.2–0.4 wt%). Such values of S are found in some off-road and marine applications. Therefore, HTL biofuel can be a low-sulphur alternative fuel for shipping industry because its fuel properties similar to that of bunker fuel.
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