A Biomass Combustion Chamber: Design, Evaluation, and a Case Study of Wheat Straw Combustion Emission Tests

Jie Tian; Judith C. Chow; Junji Cao; Yongming Han; Haiyan Ni; L.-W. Antony Chen; Xiaoliang Wang; Rujin Huang; Hans Moosmu¨ller; John G. Watson

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2015.03.0167

A Biomass Combustion Chamber: Design, Evaluation, and a Case Study of Wheat Straw Combustion Emission Tests

Jie Tian¹^,2^,3, Judith C. Chow¹^,4, Junji Cao ¹^,5, Yongming Han ¹^,2, Haiyan Ni¹^,3, L.-W. Antony Chen¹^,4, Xiaoliang Wang¹^,4, Rujin Huang¹, Hans Moosmüller⁴, John G. Watson¹^,4

+ Show author affiliations

¹Key Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry & Physics (KLACP), Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
²State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology (SKLLQG), Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China
³University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
⁴Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, Nevada 89512, USA
⁵Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

Received: March 17, 2015
Revised: May 11, 2015
Accepted: May 26, 2015
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2015.03.0167

Download: PDF | Supplemental Material

Cite this article:
Tian, J., Chow, J.C., Cao, J., Han, Y., Ni, H., Chen, L.W.A., Wang, X., Huang, R., Moosmüller, H. and Watson, J.G. (2015). A Biomass Combustion Chamber: Design, Evaluation, and a Case Study of Wheat Straw Combustion Emission Tests. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 15: 2104-2114. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2015.03.0167

HIGHLIGHTS

A combustion chamber was established to study emissions of biomass open burning.
Evaluation tests were conducted to prove its applicability in emission studies.
A case study of wheat straw combustion was performed to derive emission factors.

ABSTRACT

Open biomass burning is a significant source of trace gases and particulate pollutants on a global scale and plays an important role in both atmospheric chemistry and climate change. To study the emission characteristics of biomass burning, with a focus on crop residue combustion in Northwest China, a combustion chamber was established. This paper describes the design, structure, and operating principles of the chamber. A series of evaluation tests were conducted, demonstrating its applicability in emission studies. The combustion chamber was equipped with a thermoanemometer and a dilution sampler as well as multiple sampling ports for interfacing with different monitors. A case study of wheat straw combustion was performed to demonstrate reproducibility and comparability of the derived emission factors with prior studies. The combustion chamber may be applied to develop emission factors to update emission inventories and source profiles for improving source apportionment.

Keywords: Biomass; Emission factor; Combustion chamber; Dilution sampling; Open burning