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presented by: David Pennise Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD) University of California-Berkeley
based on material prepared by: Professor Kirk R. Smith Environmental Health Sciences University of California-Berkeley
Outline
Biomass burning basics
combustion pollutants emitted
Wood is mainly just carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen: [CH2O]x Combustion: CH2O + O2 CO2 + H2O + heat
Why doesnt wood emit only CO2 and H2O when it is burned?
Answer: Incomplete combustion unavoidably, some of the wood carbon is not completely combusted into CO2
Biomass burning emits many products of incomplete combustion: Small particles, CO, NO2 Formaldehyde, Acrolein, Benzene, Toluene, Styrene, 1,3-Butadiene, etc. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons
USEPA
403 g
4.7 g
10 mg/m3
0.1 mg/m3
0.002 mg/m3
0.0003 mg/m3
0.1 mg/m3
Clarifying Questions?
Particle Size:
Determines deposition properties and which particles can enter the lungs
Chemical Composition:
Fractional abundance of different chemical elements and compounds in emissions
Temporal Variation:
Emissions change on daily, weekly, seasonal, and annual cycles. The timing of emissions affects their transport, dilution, and human exposure to outdoor air pollution
Given their heavy mass, they usually settle out of the air within a few hours to days
Greatest number concentration, very little mass concentration due to small size Short atmospheric residence time due to random motion and collisions (combining with and forming other particles) Not visible
80%
Percent of TSP
60%
40%
20%
0% Road and Soil Dust Agricultural Burning <1 m Residential Wood Combustion 1 m - 2.5 m Diesel Truck Exhaust Crude Oil Combustion Construction Dust
2.5 m - 10 m
>10 m
Particulate Matter 4.0 Indoor open fire ~ 1000s g/m3 This room = 8670 g/m3
Three-Stone Fire
Time-series studies in 90 cities in the U.S. Measure daily changes in ambient PM and daily morbidity and mortality patterns Outcome: 0.27% increase in mortality per 10 g/m3 increase in PM10
Increase in PM10
WHO Air Quality Guidelines, 1999
Chronic effects
cardiovascular system
CO Emissions
Direct emissions from fossil fuel and biomass burning Indirect production through photochemical reactions in the atmosphere
A reminder:
For comparison:
Source: World Health Organization. Environmental Health Criteria 213: Carbon Monoxide. 1999
CO penetrates into the alveolar region where it can be absorbed into the blood stream
Studies also show some evidence for daily mortality, respiratory effects, fetal effects, and neurobehavioral effects
Physiologic changes
Outcomes
Acute Respiratory Infections ---------------Lung Cancer ---------------Heart Disease ---------------Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Air pollution
Population susceptibility
Thank you
What is the most surprising fact you learned about biomass pollution?