Particulate emissions from a modern wood stove - Influence of KCl

Particulate matter (PM) generated by residential wood combustion is a major environmental concern in Europe. This study focuses on the influence of potassium chloride (KCl) on fine particle emissions from a modern wood stove. Wood logs with and without KCl impregnation were subjected to batch combustion and emission measurements. A bi-modal particle number-size distribution characterized by a nucleation mode and an accumulation mode was identified for all types of wood fuel. However, in the presence of KCl, a lower number emission of ultrafine particles and a higher number emission of larger particles (size similar to 200-500 nm) were observed. In addition, the emission factor of condensed organic compounds (COC) increased with increasing KCl content, from 0.16 g/kg dry wood for normal wood (NW) to 0.48 g/kg dry wood for wood impregnated with the 2 mol/L KCl solution (HKW), most likely due to the facilitated heterogeneous condensation of semi-volatile hydrocarbons on pre-existing ash particles. In addition, the emission factor of soot particles also increased slightly when the KCl content was high, from 1.47 g/kg dry wood for NW to 2.23 g/kg dry wood for HKW. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study explored the influence of potassium chloride (KCl) on fine particle emissions from wood burning. It was found that the presence of KCl led to a decrease in ultrafine particle emissions and an increase in emissions of larger particles. Additionally, the emission factors of organic compounds and soot particles increased with higher KCl content.