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DOE OSTI · 2575032

Burn parameters affect PAH emissions at conditions relevant for prescribed fires

Töpperwien, Karl [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000344080244)·Vignat, Guillaume [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000250500009)·Feinberg, Alexandra J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States). Photon Ultrafast Laser Science and Engineering Institute (PULSE)]·Daube, Conner [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)]·Alton, Mitchell W. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000271193706)·Fortner, Edward C. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)]·Canagaratna, Manjula R. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)]·Kling, Matthias F. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000217100775)·Johnson, Mary [Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States)]·Nadeau, Kari [Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000221462955)·Herndon, Scott [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)]·Jayne, John T. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000269589293)·Ihme, Matthias [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000241587050)
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Abstract

Wildfire smoke is a health hazard as it contains carcinogenic volatile compounds and fine particulate matter. In particular, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a major concern, since these compounds have been recognized as important contributors to the overall carcinogenic risk. In this work, gas and particle-phase PAH emissions from combustion of Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) were quantified using time-of-flight mass spectrometry over a range of burn conditions representative of wildfires and prescribed fires, including fuel moisture, heat flux, and oxygen concentration. We found that changing the burn environment lead to a variability of up to 77% in phenanthrene/anthracene emissions. This could explain a large part of the variability in PAH emission factors from biomass combustion reported in the literature. Here, we found that optimal conditions for fuel moisture content of 20–30%, sample heat load of 60 - 70 kW m -2 , and oxygen concentrations of 5–15% can significantly reduce the emissions of heavy molar weight PAHs. Our analysis showed that the relative carcinogenic risk from PAH exposure can be reduced by more than 50% under optimal conditions. In light of the increasing use of prescribed fire for forest management, the relationship between emissions and burn conditions that we have established provides a guidance for assessing the expected health impact from prescription burns, and can inform strategies to reduce PAH emissions from prescribed fire activities.

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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.Fire managementFuel moisture contentHealth impactHigh-resolution time-of-flight soot-particle aerosol mass spectrometryProtron-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometryWildfire emissions

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Töpperwien, Karl [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000344080244), Vignat, Guillaume [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000250500009), Feinberg, Alexandra J. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States). Photon Ultrafast Laser Science and Engineering Institute (PULSE)], Daube, Conner [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)], Alton, Mitchell W. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000271193706), Fortner, Edward C. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)], Canagaratna, Manjula R. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)], Kling, Matthias F. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000217100775), Johnson, Mary [Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States)], Nadeau, Kari [Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research, Palo Alto, CA (United States); Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000221462955), Herndon, Scott [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)], Jayne, John T. [Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000269589293), Ihme, Matthias [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000241587050). 2025-02-10. Burn parameters affect PAH emissions at conditions relevant for prescribed fires. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2025.102438

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