Characteristics of gaseous pollutants from biofuel-stoves in rural China

The research team analyzed the emission characteristics of gaseous pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), from biomass combustion in improved stoves in rural China. The research included measurements from five biofuels and two stove types in the months of January, April, and September. The measurements were conducted according to U.S. EPA Method 25 using a collection system with a cooling device and two-level filters. CO, CO2, NOx, CH4 and THC analyzers were used for in-field, real-time emission measurements. The emission data indicate that gaseous pollutants were emitted at higher concentrations in the early combustion stage and lower concentrations in the later stage. CH4 and THC, as well as CO and CO2, presented positive relationships during the whole entire combustion process for all tests. The chemical profiles of flue gas samples were analyzed by GC/MS and GC/FID/ECD. Aromatics, carbonyls, and alkenes & alkynes dominated the VOC emissions, respectively accounting for 37%, 33%, and 23% of total VOC emissions by volume. Benzene was the most abundant VOC species, consisting of 17.3 +/- 8.1 % of VOCs, followed by propylene (11.3 +/- 3.5%), acetone (10.8 +/- 8.2%), toluene (7.3 +/- 5.7%) and acetaldehyde (6.5 +/- 7.3%). Carbon mass balance approach was applied to calculate CO, CO2, CH4, NOx, and VOC species emission factors. This analysis includes a discussion of the differences among VOC emission factors of different biofuel-stove combinations. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.