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Emissions from Southeastern U.S. Grasslands and Pine Savannas: Comparison of Aerial and Ground Field Measurements with Laboratory Burns
Citation:
Aurell, J., B. Gullett, AND D. Tabor. Emissions from Southeastern U.S. Grasslands and Pine Savannas: Comparison of Aerial and Ground Field Measurements with Laboratory Burns. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 111:170-178, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
This paper complements previous work done at this and two other southeastern U.S. sites of emission quantification from prescribed burning. This paper, however, directly compares simultaneous aerial and ground sampling and laboratory sampling, allowing emission factors quality to be determined by these various methods. This is an important effort as biomass species have distinctive emission properties and burn models require species-specific emission factors.
Description:
Emissions from prescribed burns of forest and grass stands in western Florida were measured by simultaneous aerial and ground sampling. Results were compared with biomass gathered from the same stands and tested in an open burn laboratory test facility. Measurements included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM2.5), elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), black carbon (BC), brown carbon (BrC), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The flaming phase (high modified combustion efficiency) was characterized by high levels of BC and BrC yet low levels of VOCs. In general, ground based measurements of PM2.5, BC, and BrC reported marginally higher emission factors than those measured by aerostat-lofted instruments in the plume. The optically-determined BC emission factor was approximately ten times higher than many previously reported results. Simultaneous BC and EC measurements showed that EC values were, on average, 42% lower than the BC values, lending uncertainty to the common use of EC measurements as a BC surrogate. PAH emission factors were indistinguishable across the sampling scenarios, while PCDDs/PCDFs saw a significant decline in the laboratory testing.
URLs/Downloads:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.03.001
EGLIN 2012 EMISSION FACTORS 09_11_14.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 329.381 KB, about PDF)