Characterization of Gas-Phase Organics Using Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: Residential Coal Combustion.

Residential coal combustion is a significant contributor to particulate urban air pollution in Chinese mega cities and some regions in Europe. While the particulate emission factors and the chemical characteristics of the organic and inorganic aerosol from coal combustion have been extensively studied, the chemical composition and nonmethane organic gas (NMOG) emission factors from residential coal combustion are mostly unknown. We conducted 23 individual burns in a traditional Chinese stove used for heating and cooking using five different coals with Chinese origins, characterizing the NMOG emissions using a proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The measured emission factors range from 1.5 to 14.1 g/kgcoal for bituminous coals and are below 0.1 g/kgcoal for anthracite coals. The emission factors from the bituminous coals are mostly influenced by the time until the coal is fully ignited. The emissions from the bituminous coals are dominated by aromatic and oxygenated aromatic compounds with a significant contribution of hydrocarbons. The results of this study can help to improve urban air pollution modeling in China and Eastern Europe and can be used to constrain a coal burning factor in ambient gas phase positive matrix factorization studies.

Characterization of Gas-Phase Organics Using Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: Aircraft Turbine Engines.

Nonmethane organic gas emissions (NMOGs) from in-service aircraft turbine engines were investigated using a proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) at an engine test facility at Zurich Airport, Switzerland. Experiments consisted of 60 exhaust samples for seven engine types (used in commercial aviation) from two manufacturers at thrust levels ranging from idle to takeoff. Emission indices (EIs) for more than 200 NMOGs were quantified, and the functional group fractions (including acids, carbonyls, aromatics, and aliphatics) were calculated to characterize the exhaust chemical composition at different engine operation modes. Total NMOG emissions were highest at idling with an average EI of 7.8 g/kg fuel and were a factor of ∼40 lower at takeoff thrust. The relative contribution of pure hydrocarbons (particularly aromatics and aliphatics) of the engine exhaust decreased with increasing thrust while the fraction of oxidized compounds, for example, acids and carbonyls increased. Exhaust chemical composition at idle was also affected by engine technology. Older engines emitted a higher fraction of nonoxidized NMOGs compared to newer ones. Idling conditions dominated ground level organic gas emissions. Based on the EI determined here, we estimate that reducing idle emissions could substantially improve air quality near airports.

Indoor terpene emissions from cooking with herbs and pepper and their secondary organic aerosol production potential.

Cooking is widely recognized as an important source of indoor and outdoor particle and volatile organic compound emissions with potential deleterious effects on human health. Nevertheless, cooking emissions remain poorly characterized. Here the effect of herbs and pepper on cooking emissions was investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge using state of the art mass spectrometric analysis of particle and gas-phase composition. Further, the secondary organic aerosol production potential of the gas-phase emissions was determined by smog chamber aging experiments. The emissions of frying meat with herbs and pepper include large amounts of mono-, sesqui- and diterpenes as well as various terpenoids and p-cymene. The average total terpene emission rate from the use of herbs and pepper during cooking is estimated to be 46 ± 5 gg-1Herbs min-1. These compounds are highly reactive in the atmosphere and lead to significant amounts of secondary organic aerosol upon aging. In summary we demonstrate that cooking with condiments can constitute an important yet overlooked source of terpenes in indoor air.

Identification of significant precursor gases of secondary organic aerosols from residential wood combustion.

Organic gases undergoing conversion to form secondary organic aerosol (SOA) during atmospheric aging are largely unidentified, particularly in regions influenced by anthropogenic emissions. SOA dominates the atmospheric organic aerosol burden and this knowledge gap contributes to uncertainties in aerosol effects on climate and human health. Here we characterize primary and aged emissions from residential wood combustion using high resolution mass spectrometry to identify SOA precursors. We determine that SOA precursors traditionally included in models account for only ~3-27% of the observed SOA, whereas for the first time we explain ~84-116% of the SOA by inclusion of non-traditional precursors. Although hundreds of organic gases are emitted during wood combustion, SOA is dominated by the aging products of only 22 compounds. In some cases, oxidation products of phenol, naphthalene and benzene alone comprise up to ~80% of the observed SOA. Identifying the main precursors responsible for SOA formation enables improved model parameterizations and SOA mitigation strategies in regions impacted by residential wood combustion, more productive targets for ambient monitoring programs and future laboratories studies, and links between direct emissions and SOA impacts on climate and health in these regions.

Characterization of Gas-Phase Organics Using Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: Cooking Emissions.

Cooking processes produce gaseous and particle emissions that are potentially deleterious to human health. Using a highly controlled experimental setup involving a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS), we investigate the emission factors and the detailed chemical composition of gas phase emissions from a broad variety of cooking styles and techniques. A total of 95 experiments were conducted to characterize nonmethane organic gas (NMOG) emissions from boiling, charbroiling, shallow frying, and deep frying of various vegetables and meats, as well as emissions from vegetable oils heated to different temperatures. Emissions from boiling vegetables are dominated by methanol. Significant amounts of dimethyl sulfide are emitted from cruciferous vegetables. Emissions from shallow frying, deep frying and charbroiling are dominated by aldehydes of differing relative composition depending on the oil used. We show that the emission factors of some aldehydes are particularly large which may result in considerable negative impacts on human health in indoor environments. The suitability of some of the aldehydes as tracers for the identification of cooking emissions in ambient air is discussed.