[Stoves] Fine Particulates from a Selection of Cookstoves

[Tom Miles]

A characterization of the relative size and quantity of fine particulate emissions from a selection of cook stoves. Note the solid fuels used in these trials were very dry.  

Size, Composition, and Source Profiles of Inhalable Bioaerosols from Colorado Dairies
Joshua W. Schaeffer, Stephen Reynolds, Sheryl Magzamen, Amanda VanDyke, Neil R. Gottel, Jack A. Gilbert, Sarah M. Owens, Jarrad T. Hampton-Marcell and John Volckens
Environ. Sci. Technol., Article ASAP
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b00882
Publication Date (Web): May 25, 2017
Copyright © 2017, American Chemical Society
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b00882


Ultrafine particle (UFP) emissions and particle number size distributions (PNSD) are critical in the evaluation of air pollution impacts; however, data on UFP number emissions from cookstoves, which are a major source of many pollutants, are limited. In this study, 11 fuel-stove combinations covering a variety of fuels and different stoves are investigated for UFP emissions and PNSD. The combustion of LPG and alcohol (∼1011 particles per useful energy delivered, particles/MJd), and kerosene (∼1013 particles/MJd), produced emissions that were lower by 2–3 orders of magnitude than solid fuels (1014–1015 particles/MJd). Three different PNSD types—unimodal distributions with peaks ∼30–40 nm, unimodal distributions with peaks <30 nm, and bimodal distributions—were observed as the result of both fuel and stove effects. The fractions of particles smaller than 30 nm (F30) varied among the tested systems, ranging from 13% to 88%. The burning of LPG and alcohol had the lowest PM2.5 mass emissions, UFP number emissions, and F30 (13–21% for LPG and 35–41% for alcohol). Emissions of PM2.5 and UFP from kerosene were also low compared with solid fuel burning but had a relatively high F30 value of approximately 73–80%.