Determination of Volatility Distributions of Primary Organic Aerosol Emissions from Internal Combustion Engines Using Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

A new technique for measuring the primary organic aerosol (POA) emissions from internal combustion engines is presented. The method combines thermal-optical OC/EC analysis and thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) of quartz filter samples collected using a dilution sampler to quantify the total emissions of low-volatility organics and to distribute them across the volatility basis set. These data can be used in conjunction with partitioning theory to predict the gas-particle partitioning and thus the total amount of POA over the entire range of atmospheric conditions. The approach is evaluated using POA emissions data from two gas-turbine engines and one diesel generator. To evaluate the new method, we directly measured the effects of temperature and concentration on gas-particle partitioning of the emissions from each. Predictions based on the volatility distributions derived from the filter analyses are consistent with the direct partitioning measurements. The new approach represents a major improvement over the traditional assumption of nonvolatile POA emissions, which over predicts actual POA emissions from these sources by a factor of 2–4 at typical ambient concentration and temperature. By using quartz filter samples, this new technique is designed to be applied to routine source test data. Volatility distributions derived using this new approach can also be applied directly to the large catalog of quartz filter data used by existing emission inventories and models. The emissions data derived from this approach are designed for use in the next generation of chemical transport models and emissions inventories that employ the volatility basis set approach to explicitly track the gas-particle partitioning of POA emissions.

Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Mass Concentration of Diesel Particle Emissions from Photoacoustic and Opacity Measurements

In this report we compare the capabilities of two optical devices—a conventional opacity meter and a recently developed photoacoustic instrument—for measurement of diesel particulate emissions. Emission measurements were performed using two vehicles (built in 1978 and 1980 and equipped with 5.7 liter diesel engines) operated at a variety of steady-state conditions and also over the federal test procedure driving cycle. The light absorbed by diesel particles heats them thereby increasing the ambient gas pressure. The change in pressure, which can be related to the particle mass concentration, is measured in the photoacoustic instrument. This is about 100 times more sensitive than the opacity meter so that it can be used to measure particulate emissions even in diluted exhaust. Further, its operation in the infrared region ensures that particle size variations do not affect its calibration against mass concentration. However, the observed optical data, both in the visible and in the infrared region, are dependent on engine operating conditions, which indicates that other particle characteristics, such as shape, are significant. Consequently, the measurement of absolute mass concentrations with the photoacoustic instrument has some of the uncertainties experienced with opacity meters.     

Investigation of the Influence of Post-Injection on Diesel Exhaust Aerosol Particle Size Distributions

The effect of double-pulse fuel split injection on the exhaust aerosol particle size distribution emitted by a state-of-the-art Heavy Duty Diesel engine was experimentally investigated. The influence of post-injection fuel quantity and dwell was evaluated at four steady-state engine conditions by analyzing the changes in the accumulation mode particle number, mean diameter and geometric standard deviation, with respect to the baseline case of single injection. Generally, rising post-injection fuel amount was found to increase accumulation mode particle number and mean diameter of the size distributions. Particle number reduction efficiency resulted dependent on the operating conditions and post-injection parameters scheme. Reductions in the particle number around 50% with respect to the baseline single-pulse injection case were observed for 1500 rpm partial load cases. For 1800 rpm 75% load conditions the reduction was lower and was achieved only when the fuel amount was below 20% of the total fuel injected. An increase in the particle number was produced when post-injection was applied at low speed and high load conditions, due to the low accumulation mode particle number emitted at this operation mode. An optimum post-injection fuel amount for particle number reduction was only seen for the 1500 rpm 75% load operation conditions. The results are indicative that further research is necessary in order to explore the existence of optimum post-injection schemes for particle number reduction at the other operating conditions studied.

Geometric standard deviation from post-injection results was higher than that corresponding to the single injection baseline cases, while an increase in the σ _g value was observed for larger dwells in some operating conditions.     

Design and Characterization of a Fluidized Bed Aerosol Generator: A Source for Dry,Submicrometer Aerosol

A fluidized bed aerosol generator has been designed and built for the purpose of generating a constant output of dry, submicrometer particles with a large number density. The output of the fluidized bed for generating aerosol particles from dry soot powder has been characterized using a differential mobility analyzer and a condensation particle counter. The particle size distribution is bimodal, with a mode in the submicrometer diameter size range and a mode in the supermicrometer diameter size range. The larger diameter mode is fully separated from the smaller mode and can thus be easily removed from the aerosol flow using impaction techniques. The distribution in the submicrometer size range is nearly log-normal, with a count median diameter falling between 0.1 and 0.3 micrometers. A number density of greater than 10⁵ particles cm^-3 of soot particles in the submicrometer range can be produced, constant to within 25% (1 standard deviation) over a 4 h time period. The number density of particles produced in the submicrometer range was found to vary with the ratio of soot to bronze beads in the bed mixture, whether or not a feed system was used, and nitrogen flow rate through the fluidized bed and feed system.     

Hygroscopic Behavior of Aerosol Particles Emitted from Biomass Fired Grate Boilers

This study focuses on the hygroscopic properties of submicrometer aerosol particles emitted from two small-scale district heating combustion plants (1 and 1.5 MW) burning two types of biomass fuels (moist forest residue and pellets). The hygroscopic particle diameter growth factor (Gf) was measured when taken from a dehydrated to a humidified state for particle diameters between 30–350 nm (dry size) using a Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (H-TDMA). Particles of a certain dry size all showed similar diameter growth and the Gf at RH = 90% for 110/100 nm particles was 1.68 in the 1 MW boiler, and 1.5 in the 1.5 MW boiler. These growth factors are considerably higher in comparison to other combustion aerosol particles such as diesel exhaust, and are the result of the efficient combustion and the high concentration of alkali species in the fuel. The observed water uptake could be explained using the Zdanovski-Stokes-Robinson (ZSR) mixing rule and a chemical composition of potassium salts only, taken from ion chromatography analysis of filter and impactor samples (KCl, K₂SO₄, and K₂CO₃). Agglomerated particles collapsed and became more spherical when initially exposed to a moderately high relative humidity. When diluted with hot particle-free air, the fractal-like structures remained intact until humidified in the H-TDMA. A method to estimate the fractal dimension of the agglomerated combustion aerosol and to convert the measured mobility diameter hygroscopic growth to the more useful property volume diameter growth is presented. The fractal dimension was estimated to be ～ 2.5.     

Studies of Diesel Engine Particle Emissions During Transient Operations Using an Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer

Diesel engine particle emissions during transient operations, including emissions during FTP transient cycles and during active regenerations of a NOx adsorber, were studied using a fast Engine Exhaust Particle Sizer (EEPS). For both fuels tested, a No. 2 certification diesel and a low sulfur diesel (BP-15), high particle concentrations and emission rates were mainly associated with heavy engine acceleration, high speed, and high torque during transient cycles. Averaged over the FTP transient cycle, the particle number concentration during tests with the certification fuel was 1.2e8/cm³, about four times the particle number concentration observed during tests using the BP-15 fuel. The effect of each engine parameter on particle emissions was studied. During tests using BP-15, the particle number emission rate was mainly controlled by the engine speed and torque, whereas for Certification fuel, the engine acceleration also had a strong effect on number emission rates. The effects of active regenerations of a diesel NOx adsorber on particle emissions were also characterized for two catalyst regeneration strategies: Delayed Extended Main (DEM) and Post 80 injection (Post80). Particle volume concentrations observed during DEM regenerations were much higher than those during Post80 regenerations, and the minimum air to fuel ratio achieved during the regenerations had little effect on particle emission for both strategies. This study provides valuable information for developing strategies that minimize the particle formation during active regenerations of NOx adsorbers.     

Development of Aerosol Monitoring Instrument and Results from Monitoring Emissions of Contained Detonations

To determine the airborne emissions that occur when conventional munitions are destroyed by open burn/open detonation (OB/OD), munitions shots were carried out in a large underground (4650 m³) chamber. Carrying out the tests in a chamber allows the total emissions to be measured, which is not possible in open-air testing. We report here the development of an instrument to measure the time-dependent mass concentration and aerosol size distribution of respirable aerosols (< 10 μ m) from detonations of artillery projectiles in the underground chamber. The instrument incorporates an on-line diluter and real-time cascade impactor for aerosol monitoring. Design, flow modeling, construction details, and results from the instrument are given.

Particulate emissions from detonations of twenty four 155 mm artillery projectiles, with a total of 377 lbs net explosive weight, were monitored. Aerosol measurements from the two duplicate tests were very similar. Aerosol mass concentrations showed rapid decreases from 37,000 and 65,000 μ g/m³ for the first samples for the two tests, 14 and 17 min after detonation, to near 20,000 μg/m³ at 20 min after each detonation. Thereafter the concentration decreased less rapidly to several thousand μg/m³ at 90 min after the detonation. Aerosol mass concentrations peaked in the 0.3–0.6 μm diameter range during the first 30–60 min of sampling and shifted to smaller particles (< 0.3 μm) toward the end of the sampling period (90 min) as turbulence decreased in the detonation chamber and large particles settled out.

The data were highly reproducible between the two tests, indicating that the instrument performed satisfactorily. The data will be used to help determine the characteristics of dust emitted from OB/OD shots for munitions demilitarization and will provide a baseline for designing future studies to monitor the airborne emissions from full-scale open-air munitions demilitarization tests.     

Aerosol and Carbon Monoxide Emissions from Low-Temperature Combustion in a Sawdust Packed-Bed Stove

Low-temperature combustion in biomass-burning stoves used for cooking results in poor thermal efficiency and high emissions. A sawdust packed-bed stove has been shown to give more stable combustion at higher temperatures than woodstoves. The study examines pollutant emissions from this stove and their dependence on stove dimensions, specifically the vertical port radius and the stove-pot spacing. Emission rates of particulate matter (PM)—along with size resolution—and of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured during steady-state combustion. The stove power increased with increased spacing and vertical port radius. However, the air-flow rate, combustion temperature, and air-fuel ratio showed complex variations with stove dimensions from the described coupling among the pyrolysis, combustion, induced air flow, and mixing. Emission rates of PM (0.21–0.36 gh^?1 and CO (3–8 gh^?1 and were a factor of ten lower than those previously measured from woodstoves. Emission rates of CO decreased, while PM increased, with increasing combustion temperature. Aerosol size distributions were unimodal with mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) of 0.24–0.40 𝛍 a factor of two smaller than from woodstoves. Cool combustion at 534–625°C gave lower PM emission rates but particles of larger MMAD, while hot combustion at 625–741°C gave higher PM emission rates with smaller particle MMAD. The OC/EC ratio obtained for cool combustion was higher (1.20) than that for hot combustion (0.96). Greater elemental carbon formation was seen at the higher temperatures. PM and CO emission rates followed opposite trends with combustion temperature and stove configuration, resulting in no single configuration at which both CO and PM emissions were minimized. However, its superior thermal efficiency and significantly lower emissions than wood stoves should motivate further study of this device to optimize thermal and emissions performance.     

Size Distributions of Organonitrates in Ambient Aerosol Collected in Houston,Texas

The size distributions of organonitrate functional groups in ambient Houston, TX aerosol were determined at 3 sites during an air quality field study conducted during August and September 2000. Samples were collected using a Hering low-pressure impactor and were analyzed, in transmission mode, using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The size distributions of organonitrate groups generally fell into 4 categories. In approximately 25% of the samples, the majority of the organonitrate group mass was found in aerosol of approximately 0.1 w m aerodynamic diameter. In approximately 26% and 12% of the samples, the majority of the mass was found in aerosol of approximately 0.25 and 1 w m diameter, respectively; 21% of the samples displayed both 0.1 and 1 w m size modes. The remainder of the samples had relatively low organonitrate mass or other size distributions. Total organonitrate group absorbances, per m 3 of air sampled, were generally similar to measurements from samples collected in Los Angeles in previous studies, however,some samples had organonitrate absorbances that were an order of magnitude more intense than observed at urban sites in Los Angeles. The events with high organonitrate concentrations were observed at source-dominated (industrial) sites and were not correlated with either high NO x or high ozone concentrations, suggesting that the high concentrations are due to primary sources. The high organonitrate concentrations were generally accompanied by evidence of high acidity and high organic concentrations.     

Mass Range and Optimized Operation of the Aerosol Particle Mass Analyzer

We investigated, theoretically, the mass range in which an aerosol particle mass analyzer (APM) can be used for classification, and how the APM classification performance can be optimized. We listed factors that set limits to the APM, which were constraints of the rotation speed and the voltage, as well as requirements on the APM classification performance parameter, λ, that guarantee at least minimal performance in both resolution and penetration. We introduced the APM operation diagram, which is a tool to visualize the limits and mass range. We proposed to operate the APM that was considered in this study with the λ value set within the range from 0.25 to 0.5 for optimum classification performance by balancing both resolution and penetration. The mass range for the APM, with the λ value maintained between 0.25 and 0.5, was calculated to be from 0.003 to 2000 fg, which corresponds to the diameter range from 20 to 1600 nm for the density of 1 g/cm³. To verify the validity of the mass range and the idea of the optimized operation, we carried out experiments on an APM with polystyrene and sodium-chloride particles that were classified by electrical mobility. We found that the APM was able to provide bell-shaped spectra down to 12 nm, and was able to perform mass classification with an accuracy better than 5% down to 50 nm. Underestimation of mass and reduction of resolution and penetration were observed at sizes smaller than about 30 nm.     

Development and Evaluation of On-Board Measurement System for Nanoparticle Emissions from Diesel Engine

This work has focused on the development and evaluation of an experimental set-up to measure in real time and with on-board equipments the particle emissions of diesel vehicle minimizing the uncertainties associated to dilution ratio, the length of the transfer line and the sampling point in the engine exhaust pipe. Its suitability has been verified by ensuring the repeatability of the results in dynamometer tests reproducing standard circuits, as well as in closed circuits and in real urban traffic in Madrid, Spain. The experience derived from this work has been very useful, contributing to the advance in the measurement of particle number and size distribution in real time using on-board equipment and bringing us closer to understanding the relationship between the physical characteristics of the particles emitted by a diesel engine and its operation in real urban traffic conditions. The proposed on-board system has provided very satisfactory results.     

Bipolar Charge Distributions of Aerosol Particles in High-Purity Argon and Nitrogen

The bipolar diffusion charging has been studied for monodisperse sodium chloride and silver particles of 5–100 nm in atmospheric air, argon and nitrogen. The particles were bipolarly charged in a neutralizer by ions, produced by beta-rays from a Kr 85 source. The differently charged particle fractions were separated in a differential mobility analyzer and measured with an aerosol electrometer. The experimentally determined results in atmospheeric air are comparable with earlier measured asymmetric bipolar charge distributions. They show good agreement with the theoretically determined results based on the extended Fuchs model with four-input ion parameters: mobilities and masses of positive and negative ions. The experimentally determined bipolar charge distributions in argon and nitrogen are more asymmetric than in atmospheric air. The theoretically determined distributions, based on the extended Fuchs model, can be fitted to the experimental data. Furthermore, the extended Fuchs model is strongly dependent upon variations of the four input ion parameters. No differences for the experimentally determined bipolar charge distribution could be found between different gas purities and different particle materials.     

Distortion of Size Distributions by Condensation and Evaporation in Aerosol Instruments

Aerosols that contain volatile species or condensable vapors may be altered by changes in temperature, pressure, and vapor concentration. When such changes occur within aerosol sampling instruments, the measured size distribution can be distorted significantly. The distortion of particle size distributions in a number of commonly used aerosol instruments, including cascade impactors, both conventional and low pressure instruments, and optical particle counters, is explored both theoretically and experimentally in this paper. Ammonium sulfate aerosols in humid atmospheres have been used to test the instruments. In a low pressure impactor in which the pressure is intentionally reduced to facilitate the collection of small particles, a water containing particle may shrink due to evaporation as the pressure is reduced. However, if the sample flow is also accelerated to high velocities, aerodynamic cooling can lead to condensation of water vapor and particle growth. Either of these competing effects may lead to erroneous estimates of the particle size distribution. Optical particle counters generally use a recirculated sheath airflow. Pumps and electrical dissipation heat this air, leading to a temperature increase that shifts the vapor equilibrium, causing a decrease in particle size due to evaporation. Modifications have been made to avoid this distortion in measured size distributions.     

Effect of Vaporizer Temperature on Ambient Non-Refractory Submicron Aerosol Composition and Mass Spectra Measured by the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer

Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometers (AMS) are routinely operated with a constant vaporizer temperature (T_vap) of 600°C in order to facilitate quantitative detection of non-refractory submicron (NR-PM₁) species. By analogy with other thermal desorption instruments, systematically varying T_vap may provide additional information regarding NR-PM₁ chemical composition and relative volatility, and was explored during two ambient studies. The performance of the AMS generally and the functional integrity of the vaporizer were not negatively impacted during vaporizer temperature cycling (VTC) periods. NR-PM₁ species signals change substantially as T_vap decreases with that change being consistent with previous relative volatility measurements: large decreases in lower volatility components (e.g., sulfate, organic aerosol [OA]) with little, if any, decrease in higher volatility components (e.g., nitrate, ammonium) as T_vap decreases. At T_vap < 600°C, slower evaporation was observed as a shift in particle time-of-flight distributions and an increase in “particle beam blocked” (background) concentrations. Some chemically reduced (i.e., C_xH_y⁺) OA ions at higher m/z are enhanced at lower T_vap, indicating that this method may improve the analysis of some chemically reduced OA systems. The OA spectra changes dramatically with T_vap; however, the observed trends cannot easily be interpreted to derive volatility information. Reducing T_vap increases the relative O:C and CO₂⁺, contrary to what is expected from measured volatility. This is interpreted as continuing decomposition of low volatility species that decreases more slowly (as T_vap decreases) than does the evaporation of reduced species. The reactive vaporizer surface and the inability to reach T_vap much below 200°C of the standard AMS limit the ability of this method to study the volatility of oxidized OA species.

Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Determination of Arbitrary Moments of Aerosol Size Distributions from Measurements with a Differential Mobility Analyzer

A method to determine arbitrary moments of aerosol size distributions from differential mobility analyzer measurements has been proposed. The proposed method is based on a modification of the algorithm developed by Knutson and Whitby to calculate the moments of electrical mobility distributions. For this modification, the electrical mobility and the charge distribution have been approximately expressed by power functions of the particle diameter. To evaluate the validity of the approximation, we have carried out numerical simulations for typical size distributions. We have found that for typical narrowly distributed aerosols such as polystyrene latex particles and particles that arise in the tandem differential mobility analyzer configuration, the distribution parameters can be accurately determined by this method. For a log-normally distributed aerosol, the accuracy of the distribution parameters determined by this method has been evaluated as a function of the geometric standard deviation. We have also compared the accuracy of the proposed method with other existing methods in the case of the asymmetric Gaussian distribution.     

气溶胶飞行时间质谱仪分析间-二甲苯光氧化颗粒相产物

在自制的烟雾腔内,用紫外光照射间-二甲苯、亚硝酸甲酯、一氧化氮和清洁空气的混合物,可以启动间-二甲苯和羟基自由基(OH)的光氧化反应和一系列的后续反应,产生非挥发性和半挥发性有机化合物.半挥发性有机化合物可以在气态和粒子态之间进行分配,产生二次有机气溶胶粒子.采用实时测量气溶胶粒子粒径大小和化学成分的气溶胶飞行时间质谱仪快速、实时地测量了这些粒子的尺度、它们的分子成分和粒径分布.通过化学分析,得到酚、醛、酮和羧酸等重要的间-二甲苯光氧化产物,为讨论间-二甲苯光氧化反应机理提供了新的信息.     

Comparison and Combination of Aerosol Size Distributions Measured with a Low Pressure Impactor,Differential Mobility Particle Sizer,Electrical Aerosol Analyzer,and Aerodynamic Particle Sizer

Data from a different mobility particle sizer (DMPS) or an electrical aerosol analyzer (EAA) has been combined with data from an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) and converted to obtain aerosol mass distribution parameters on a near real-time basis. A low pressure impactor (LPI), a direct and independent measure of this mass distribution, provided information for comparison.

The number distribution of particles within the electrical measurement range was obtained with the DMPS and EAA. Data from the APS for particles greater than that size were used to complete the number distribution. Two methods of obtaining mass distribution parameters from this number data were attempted. The first was to convert the number data, channel by channel, to mass data and then fit a log-normal function to this new mass distribution. The second method was to fit a log-normal function to the combined number distribution and then use the Hatch-Choate equations to obtain mass parameters.

Both the DMPS / APS and the EAA / APS systems were shown to successfully measure aerosol mass distribution as a function of aerodynamic diameter. Careful operation of the measurement equipment and proper data manipulation are necessary to achieve reliable results. A channel-by-channel conversion from number to mass distribution provided the best comparison to the LPI measurement. The DMPS / APS combination furnishes higher-size resolution and accuracy than the EAA / APS system. A small gap was observed in the EAA / APS combined data; however, this did not seem to adversely affect the determination of mass distribution parameters.     

Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer: Development,Validation, and Initial Application

The Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SP-AMS) was developed to measure the chemical and physical properties of particles containing refractory black carbon (rBC). The SP-AMS is an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) equipped with an intracavity laser vaporizer (1064 nm) based on the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) design, in addition to the resistively heated, tungsten vaporizer used in a standard AMS. The SP-AMS can be operated with the laser vaporizer alone, with both the laser and tungsten vaporizers, or with the tungsten vaporizer alone. When operating with only the laser vaporizer, the SP-AMS is selectively sensitive to laser-light absorbing particles, such as ambient rBC-containing particles as well as metal nanoparticles, and measures both the refractory and nonrefractory components. When operated with both vaporizers and modulating the laser on and off, the instrument measures the refractory components of absorbing particles and the nonrefractory particulate matter of all sampled particles. The SP-AMS design, mass spectral interpretation, calibration, and sensitivity are described. Instrument calibrations yield a sensitivity of greater than 140 carbon ions detected per picogram of rBC mass sampled, a 3σ detection limit of less than 0.1 μg·m^?3 for 60 s averaging, and a mass-specific ionization efficiency relative to particulate nitrate of 0.2 ± 0.1. Sensitivities were found to vary depending upon laser-particle beam overlap. The utility of the instrument to characterize ambient rBC aerosol is demonstrated.

Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Interpretation of Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Diesel Exhaust Photooxidation in an Environmental Chamber

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from diesel exhaust was investigated using an environmental chamber. Particle volume measurement based solely on mobility diameter underestimated the SOA formation from diesel exhaust due to the external void space of agglomerate particles. Therefore, particle mass concentration and fractal-like dimension was determined from the particle effective density as a function of particle mass using an aerosol particle mass analyzer and scanning mobility particle sizer (APM–SMPS). Continuous aging of aerosol measured by an increase of atomic ratio (O/C) underscored the importance of multigenerational oxidation of low-volatile organic vapors emitted from diesel engine as a possible significant source of ambient oxygenated SOA. Higher particle effective densities were observed when raw exhaust was injected into a full bag as opposed to filling a bag with diluted exhaust using an ejector diluter. This suggests that the dilution method, in addition to dilution ratio, may impact the evaporation of semivolatile species. This study demonstrates the critical need to evaluate particle mass when evaluating SOA formation onto fractal particles such as diesel exhaust.     

Sensitivity of Diesel Particulate Material Emissions and Composition to Blends of Petroleum Diesel and Biodiesel Fuel

A number of investigations have examined the impact of the use of biodiesel on the emissions of carbon dioxide and regulated emissions, but limited information exists on the chemical composition of particulate matter from diesel engines burning biodiesel blends. This study examines the composition of diesel particulate matter (DPM) emissions from a commercial agriculture tractor burning a range of biodiesel blends operating under a load that is controlled by a power take off (PTO) dynamometer. Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel was blended with soybean and beef tallow based biodiesel to examine fuels containing 0% (B0), 25% (B25), 50% (B50), 75% (B75), and 100% (B100) biodiesel. Samples were then collected using a dilution source sampler to simulate atmospheric dilution. Diluted and aged exhaust was analyzed for particle mass and size distribution, PM_2.5 particle mass, PM_2.5 organic and elemental carbon, and speciated organic compounds. PM_2.5 mass emissions rates for the B25, B50, and B75 soybean oil biodiesel mixtures had 20%–30% lower emissions than the petroleum diesel, but B100 emissions were about 40% higher than the petroleum diesel. The trends in mass emission rates with the increasing biodiesel content can be explained by a significant decrease in elemental carbon (EC) emissions across all blending ranges and increasing organic carbon (OC) emissions with pure biodiesel. Beef tallow biodiesel blends showed similar trends. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the study measurements are based on low dilution rates and the OC emissions changes may be affected by ambient temperature and different dilution conditions spanning micro-environments and atmospheric conditions. The results show that the use of biodiesel fuel for economic or climate change mitigation purposes can lead to reductions in PM emissions and a co-benefit of EC emission reductions. Detailed speciation of the OC emissions were also examined and are presented to understand the sensitivity of OC emissions with respect to biodiesel fuel blends.

Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research