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Impact of Biomass Combustion on Air Quality

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (14 July 2023) | Viewed by 13017

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Environment and Planning, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: environmental technologies; analytical chemistry; water and air quality; toxicity of environmental samples
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environment and Planning, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: residential biomass combustion; emissions; particulate matter chemical characterisation; indoor and outdoor air quality; source apportionment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Residential biomass combustion is regarded as an important source of atmospheric pollutants, which are of great concern due to their impacts on air quality, climate and human health. Emissions from burning small-scale biomass are highly complex mixtures that vary largely according to combustion parameters. These depend on the combustion technology (manually versus automatically fueled stoves and boilers), fuels (wood logs and chips, pellets) and operating conditions. An accurate quantification and characterization of emissions is essential to update emission inventories, to improve source apportionment and air quality models and for the proper development of effective mitigation strategies.

Considering the rising awareness of the environmental effects of combustion emissions, studies on implementation of different emission reduction measures (e.g., optimization of the combustion process, fuel modification, flue gas cleaning) are valuable. The assessment of real-life user practices on emissions from small-scale biomass combustion is also needed to more accurately estimate the impact of this source on air quality. Taking into account that biomass combustion emissions can undergo varying atmospheric aging before human exposure, studies on aging processes also deserve attention in this Special Issue. Finally, studies focusing on the detailed characterization of aerosol properties are of great interest since these are connected to their ability to trigger toxicological responses as well as climate effects.

Authors are invited to submit novel contributions in the form of critical reviews and research papers targeting any of these or other related topics.

Dr. Célia Alves
Dr. Estela Vicente
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Aerosol aging
  • Biomass combustion
  • Emission factors
  • Emission reduction
  • Fuel improvement
  • Gaseous compounds
  • Particle chemical composition
  • Particulate matter
  • Pollutant formation mechanisms
  • Stove/burner design

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1382 KiB  
Article
Emission Mitigation by Aluminum-Silicate-Based Fuel Additivation of Wood Chips with Kaolin and Kaolinite
by Christian Gollmer, Vanessa Weigel and Martin Kaltschmitt
Energies 2023, 16(7), 3095; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073095 - 28 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1557
Abstract
This study investigates the transferability of aluminum-silicate-based fuel additivation as a primary, fuel-based mitigation measure for inorganic alkali-based particulate matter (PM) emissions during the complete combustion of wood chips. Therefore, wood chips are additivated with 0.5 wt% of three different types of the [...] Read more.
This study investigates the transferability of aluminum-silicate-based fuel additivation as a primary, fuel-based mitigation measure for inorganic alkali-based particulate matter (PM) emissions during the complete combustion of wood chips. Therefore, wood chips are additivated with 0.5 wt% of three different types of the aluminum-silicate-based additive kaolin, which differ mainly in their particle size distribution, and with one type of kaolinite. The subsequent combustion trials with non-additivated and additivated wood chips are carried out in a small-scale combustion plant. To evaluate the effect of the additivation of the wood chips, the total particulate matter (TPM) emissions, the potassium (K) emissions, the ultra-fine PM emissions and the carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, as well as the chemical composition of the resulting ashes, are analyzed. In order to compare the primary, fuel-side mitigation measure of fuel additivation with the established secondary mitigation measures, an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is additionally utilized. The respective result shows that the aluminum-silicate-based fuel additivation of the wood chips with kaolin and the use of the ESP lead to comparable reductions in the TPM emissions, as well as the share of the ultra-fine particle fraction in the PM emissions. The addition of the additive kaolin additionally causes the significant mitigation of the K and CO emissions. Overall, the obtained results suggest that the combined utilization of fuel-side aluminum-silicate-based fuel additivation, together with the secondary mitigation measure of the ESP, might be very promising to further reduce PM emissions from combustion devices that operate with wood chips. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biomass Combustion on Air Quality)
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17 pages, 5999 KiB  
Article
High-Resolution Emissions from Wood Burning in Norway—The Effect of Cabin Emissions
by Susana Lopez-Aparicio, Henrik Grythe and Miha Markelj
Energies 2022, 15(24), 9332; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15249332 - 9 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1496
Abstract
Emissions from wood burning for heating in secondary homes or cabins is an important part in the development of high-resolution emissions in specific areas. Norway is used as case study as 20% of the national wood consumption for heating occurs in cabins. Our [...] Read more.
Emissions from wood burning for heating in secondary homes or cabins is an important part in the development of high-resolution emissions in specific areas. Norway is used as case study as 20% of the national wood consumption for heating occurs in cabins. Our study first shows a method to estimate emissions from cabins based on traffic data to derive cabin occupancy, which combined with heating need allows for the spatial and temporal distribution of emissions. The combination of residential (RWC) and cabin wood combustion (CWC) emissions shows large spatial and temporal differences, and a temporally “cabin population” can in areas be orders of magnitude larger than the registered population. While RWC emissions have been steadily reduced, CWC have kept relatively constant or even increased, which results in an increase in the cabin share to total heating emissions up to 25–35%. When comparing with regional emission inventories, our study shows that the gradient between rural and urban areas is not well-represented in regional inventories, which resembles a population-based distribution and does not allocate emissions in cabin municipalities. CWC emissions may become an increasing environmental concern as higher densification trends in mountain areas are observed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biomass Combustion on Air Quality)
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14 pages, 1606 KiB  
Article
Efficiency of Emission Reduction Technologies for Residential Biomass Combustion Appliances: Electrostatic Precipitator and Catalyst
by Estela D. Vicente, Márcio A. Duarte, Luís A. C. Tarelho and Célia A. Alves
Energies 2022, 15(11), 4066; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15114066 - 1 Jun 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6458
Abstract
Residential biomass combustion has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of atmospheric pollutants. Rising awareness of the environmental effects of residential biomass combustion emissions boosted the development of different emission reduction devices that are currently available on the market for [...] Read more.
Residential biomass combustion has been pointed out as one of the largest sources of atmospheric pollutants. Rising awareness of the environmental effects of residential biomass combustion emissions boosted the development of different emission reduction devices that are currently available on the market for small-scale appliances. However, detailed studies on the efficiency of these devices in different combustion systems available in Southern European countries are lacking. In this study, two pollution control devices (catalytic converter and electrostatic precipitator) were tested in two different combustion systems (batch mode operated woodstove and automatically fed pellet stove) in order to assess the emission reduction potential of the devices. Pine firewood was used to fuel the woodstove. One commercial brand of pellets and an agricultural fuel (olive pit) were taken for the experiments in the pellet stove. While the efficiency of the electrostatic precipitator in reducing PM10 was only recorded for woodstove emissions (29%), the effect of the catalyst in decreasing gaseous emissions was only visible when applied to the pellet stove flue gas. For wood pellet combustion, reductions of CO and TOC emissions were in the range of 60–62% and 74–77%, respectively. For olive pit combustion, a lower decrease of 59–60% and 64% in CO and TOC emissions, respectively, was recorded. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biomass Combustion on Air Quality)
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15 pages, 1652 KiB  
Article
Briquettes from Pinus spp. Residues: Energy Savings and Emissions Mitigation in the Rural Sector
by Mario Morales-Máximo, José Guadalupe Rutiaga-Quiñones, Omar Masera and Víctor Manuel Ruiz-García
Energies 2022, 15(9), 3419; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15093419 - 7 May 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2075
Abstract
This study analyzes the household energy needs of the indigenous community of San Francisco Pichátaro, Michoacán, Mexico, and the use of Pinus spp. wood residues for the production of briquettes. The energy and emission performances of wood briquettes were evaluated on the field [...] Read more.
This study analyzes the household energy needs of the indigenous community of San Francisco Pichátaro, Michoacán, Mexico, and the use of Pinus spp. wood residues for the production of briquettes. The energy and emission performances of wood briquettes were evaluated on the field and in the laboratory. On-field surveys and measurements show that most users combine the use of fuelwood and LPG for cooking and heating water, and 65% of people use fuelwood daily (40% of houses consumed more than 39 kg per week). The use of biomass waste is an energy option in rural communities and contributes to reducing firewood consumption and mitigating GHGs. Briquettes gasification to heat water reduces 74% of GHG emissions, increases the thermal efficiency by 30%, and reduces pollutant emissions of CO, CH4, and PM2.5, NMHC, EC, and OC by 50% to 75% compared to a three-stone fire. The use of briquettes on the Patsari stove showed energy savings of 12% and a 36% reduction in CO2e compared to the “U” type open fire. The briquettes could reduce the fuelwood consumption by 318 t/year. It is possible to produce briquettes at a cost similar to or cheaper than fuelwood and generate a local market (circular economy) with local benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Biomass Combustion on Air Quality)
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