| 1. |
- Bendtsen, Katja Maria, et al.
(author)
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Particle characterization and toxicity in C57BL/6 mice following instillation of five different diesel exhaust particles designed to differ in physicochemical properties
- 2020
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In: Particle and Fibre Toxicology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1743-8977. ; 17:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Diesel exhaust is carcinogenic and exposure to diesel particles cause health effects. We investigated the toxicity of diesel exhaust particles designed to have varying physicochemical properties in order to attribute health effects to specific particle characteristics. Particles from three fuel types were compared at 13% engine intake O2 concentration: MK1 ultra low sulfur diesel (DEP13) and the two renewable diesel fuels hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO13) and rapeseed methyl ester (RME13). Additionally, diesel particles from MK1 ultra low sulfur diesel were generated at 9.7% (DEP9.7) and 17% (DEP17) intake O2 concentration. We evaluated physicochemical properties and histopathological, inflammatory and genotoxic responses on day 1, 28, and 90 after single intratracheal instillation in mice compared to reference diesel particles and carbon black. RESULTS: Moderate variations were seen in physical properties for the five particles: primary particle diameter: 15-22 nm, specific surface area: 152-222 m2/g, and count median mobility diameter: 55-103 nm. Larger differences were found in chemical composition: organic carbon/total carbon ratio (0.12-0.60), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content (1-27 μg/mg) and acid-extractable metal content (0.9-16 μg/mg). Intratracheal exposure to all five particles induced similar toxicological responses, with different potency. Lung particle retention was observed in DEP13 and HVO13 exposed mice on day 28 post-exposure, with less retention for the other fuel types. RME exposure induced limited response whereas the remaining particles induced dose-dependent inflammation and acute phase response on day 1. DEP13 induced acute phase response on day 28 and inflammation on day 90. DNA strand break levels were not increased as compared to vehicle, but were increased in lung and liver compared to blank filter extraction control. Neutrophil influx on day 1 correlated best with estimated deposited surface area, but also with elemental carbon, organic carbon and PAHs. DNA strand break levels in lung on day 28 and in liver on day 90 correlated with acellular particle-induced ROS. CONCLUSIONS: We studied diesel exhaust particles designed to differ in physicochemical properties. Our study highlights specific surface area, elemental carbon content, PAHs and ROS-generating potential as physicochemical predictors of diesel particle toxicity.
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| 2. |
- Falk, John, et al.
(author)
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Immersion freezing ability of freshly emitted soot with various physico-chemical characteristics
- 2021
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In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 12:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The immersion freezing ability of soot particles has in previous studies been reported in the range of low/insignificant to very high. The aims of this study were to: (i) perform detailed physico-chemical characterisation of freshly produced soot particles with very different properties, (ii) investigate the immersion freezing ability of the same particles, and (iii) investigate the potential links between physico-chemical particle properties and ice-activity. A miniCAST soot generator was used to produce eight different soot samples representing a wide range of physico-chemical properties. A continuous flow diffusion chamber was used to study each sample online in immersion mode over the temperature (T) range from −41 to −32◦C, at a supersaturation of about 10% with respect to liquid water. All samples exhibited low to no heterogeneous immersion freezing. The most active sample reached ice-activated fractions (AF) of 10−3 and 10−4 at temperatures of 1.7 and 1.9 K, respectively, above the homogeneous freezing temperature. The samples were characterized online with respect to a wide range of physico-chemical properties including effective particle density, optical properties, particle surface oxidation and soot maturity. We did observe indications of increasing immersion freezing ice-activity with increasing effective particle density and increasing particulate PAH fraction . Hence, those properties, or other properties co-varying with those, could potentially enhance the immersion freezing ice-activity of the studied soot particle types. However, we found no significant correlation between the physico-chemical properties and the observed ice-nucleating ability when the particle ensemble was extended to include previously published results including more ice-active biomass combustion soot particles. We conclude that it does not appear possible in general and in any straightforward way to link observed soot particle physico-chemical properties to the ice-nucleating ability using the online instrumentation included in this study. Furthermore, our observations support that freshly produced soot particles with a wide range of physico-chemical properties have low to insignificant immersion freezing ice-nucleating ability.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Gallo, Yann, et al.
(author)
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Investigation of Late-Cycle Soot Oxidation Using Laser Extinction and In-Cylinder Gas Sampling at Varying Inlet Oxygen Concentrations in Diesel Engines
- 2017
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In: Fuel. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-7153 .- 0016-2361. ; 193, s. 308-314
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study focuses on the relative importance of O2 and OH as oxidizers of soot during the late cycle in diesel engines, where the soot oxidation is characterized in an optically accessible engine using laser extinction measurements. These are combined with in cylinder gas sampling data from a single cylinder engine fitted with a fast gas sampling valve. Both measurements confirm that the in-cylinder soot oxidation slows down when the inlet concentration of O2 is reduced. A 38% decrease in intake O2 concentration reduces the soot oxidation rate by 83%, a non-linearity suggesting that O2 in itself is not the main soot oxidizing species. Chemical kinetics simulations of OH concentrations in the oxidation zone and estimates of the OH soot oxidation rates point towards OH being the dominant oxidizer.
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| 5. |
- Gren, Louise, et al.
(author)
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Effect of renewable fuels and intake O2 concentration on diesel engine emission characteristics and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation
- 2020
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In: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 11:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Renewable diesel fuels have the potential to reduce net CO2 emissions, and simultaneously decrease particulate matter (PM) emissions. This study characterized engine-out PM emissions and PM-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation potential. Emissions from a modern heavy-duty diesel engine without external aftertreatment devices, and fueled with petroleum diesel, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) or rapeseed methyl ester (RME) biodiesel were studied. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) allowed us to probe the effect of air intake O2 concentration, and thereby combustion temperature, on emissions and ROS formation potential. An increasing level of EGR (decreasing O2 concentration) resulted in a general increase of equivalent black carbon (eBC) emissions and decrease of NOx emissions. At a medium level of EGR (13% intake O2), eBC emissions were reduced for HVO and RME by 30 and 54% respectively compared to petroleum diesel. In general, substantially lower emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including nitro and oxy-PAHs, were observed for RME compared to both HVO and diesel. At low-temperature combustion (LTC, O2 < 10%), CO and hydrocarbon gas emissions increased and an increased fraction of refractory organic carbon and PAHs were found in the particle phase. These altered soot properties have implications for the design of aftertreatment systems and diesel PM measurements with optical techniques. The ROS formation potential per mass of particles increased with increasing engine O2 concentration intake. We hypothesize that this is because soot surface properties evolve with the combustion temperature and become more active as the soot matures into refractory BC, and secondly as the soot surface becomes altered by surface oxidation. At 13% intake O2, the ROS-producing ability was high and of similar magnitude per mass for all fuels. When normalizing by energy output, the lowered emissions for the renewable fuels led to a reduced ROS formation potential.
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| 6. |
- Gren, Louise, et al.
(author)
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Effects of renewable fuel and exhaust aftertreatment on primary and secondary emissions from a modern heavy-duty diesel engine
- 2021
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In: Journal of Aerosol Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0021-8502. ; 156
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Compared to petroleum diesel, renewable diesel fuels and exhaust aftertreatment systems can reduce primary exhaust emissions that are hazardous to human health and the environment. Secondary aerosol emissions which form upon atmospheric processing have, however, been less studied. This study aimed to quantify the impacts of replacing petroleum diesel with renewable fuels (hydrotreated vegetable oil [HVO] and rapeseed methyl ester [RME]) on primary and secondary aerosol emissions from a heavy-duty diesel engine at different stages of an exhaust aftertreatment system. Emission characterization was obtained by combining a battery of physical characterization techniques with chemical characterization using aerosol mass spectrometry. At engine-out measurements, RME and HVO reduced primary particulate matter (PM) emissions (for example equivalent black carbon [eBC]) and secondary aerosol production (studied with an oxidation flow reactor [OFR]) by mass compared to petroleum diesel. The diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) reduced primary nucleation mode emissions, reduced the effective density of soot mode emissions, and reduced secondary particle production by mass. The DOC + a diesel particulate filter removed >99% of the particle number and eBC emissions. Volatile PM emissions (for example organic aerosol) were found to be distributed between the nucleation mode and soot mode for both primary and secondary emissions, to a degree that depends on both fuel type and aftertreatment. A high mass concentration of condensable species and a low condensation sink in the soot mode led to increased fractions of condensable species present in the nucleation mode. Aging in the OFR led to increases in particle effective density. Motoring the engine (running without combustion) showed that the nucleation mode originated primarily from lubricating oil, and nonvolatile nanoparticle emissions were identified down to 1.2 nm in particle size. In conclusion, replacing petroleum diesel with HVO and RME changes emission characteristics and can help reduce key aerosol emissions of relevance for adverse health and climate impact, especially for diesel engines with no or limited exhaust aftertreatment.
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| 7. |
- Korhonen, Kimmo, et al.
(author)
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Ice-nucleating ability of particulate emissions from solid-biomass-fired cookstoves : An experimental study
- 2020
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 20:8, s. 4951-4968
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This research was part of the Salutary Umeå Study of Aerosols in Biomass Cookstove Emissions (SUSTAINE) laboratory experiment campaign. We studied ice-nucleating abilities of particulate emissions from solid-fuel-burning cookstoves, using a portable ice nuclei counter, Spectrometer Ice Nuclei (SPIN). These emissions were generated from two traditional cookstove types commonly used for household cooking in sub-Saharan Africa and two advanced gasifier stoves under research to promote sustainable development alternatives. The solid fuels studied included biomass from two different African tree species, Swedish softwood and agricultural residue products relevant to the region. Measurements were performed with a modified version of the standard water boiling test on polydisperse samples from flue gas during burning and size-selected accumulation mode soot particles from a 15 m3 aerosol-storage chamber. The studied soot particle sizes in nanometers were 250, 260, 300, 350, 400, 450 and 500. From this chamber, the particles were introduced to water-supersaturated freezing conditions (-32 to-43 °C) in the SPIN. Accumulation mode soot particles generally produced an ice-activated fraction of 10-3 in temperatures 1-1.5 °C higher than that required for homogeneous freezing at fixed RHw D 115 %. In five special experiments, the combustion performance of one cookstove was intentionally modified. Two of these exhibited a significant increase in the icenucleating ability of the particles, resulting in a 10-3 ice activation at temperatures up to 5.9 °C higher than homogeneous freezing and the observed increased ice-nucleating ability. We investigated six different physico-chemical properties of the emission particles but found no clear correlation between them and increasing ice-nucleating ability. We conclude that the freshly emitted combustion aerosols form ice via immersion and condensation freezing at temperatures only moderately above homogeneous freezing conditions.
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| 8. |
- Korhonen, Kimmo, et al.
(author)
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Particle emissions from a modern heavy-duty diesel engine as ice nuclei in immersion freezing mode: a laboratory study on fossil and renewable fuels
- 2022
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7324. ; 22:23, s. 1615-1631
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We studied ice-nucleating abilities of particulate emissions from a modern heavy-duty diesel engine using three different types of fuel. The polydisperse particle emissions were sampled during engine operation and introduced to a continuous-flow diffusion chamber (CFDC) instrument at a constant relative humidity RHwater=110 %, while the temperature was ramped between −43 and −32 ∘C (T scan). The tested fuels were EN 590 compliant low-sulfur fossil diesel, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), and rapeseed methyl ester (RME); all were tested without blending. Sampling was carried out at different stages in the engine exhaust aftertreatment system, with and without simulated atmospheric processing using an oxidation flow reactor. In addition to ice nucleation experiments, we used supportive instrumentation to characterize the emitted particles for their physicochemical properties and presented six parameters. We found that the studied emissions contained no significant concentrations of ice-nucleating particles likely to be of atmospheric relevance. The substitution of fossil diesel with renewable fuels, using different emission aftertreatment systems such as a diesel oxidation catalyst, and photochemical aging of total exhaust had only minor effect on their ice-nucleating abilities.
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| 9. |
- Kristensen, Thomas Bjerring, et al.
(author)
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Properties and emission factors of cloud condensation nuclei from biomass cookstoves - Observations of a strong dependency on potassium content in the fuel
- 2021
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Nicolaus Copernicus University Press. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 21:10, s. 8023-8044
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Residential biomass combustion is a significant source of aerosol particles on regional and global scales influencing climate and human health. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the properties of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) emitted from biomass burning of solid fuels in different cookstoves mostly of relevance to sub- Saharan east Africa.The traditional three-stone fire and a rocket stove were used for combustion of wood logs of Sesbania and Casuarina with birch used as a reference. A natural draft and a forced-draft pellet stove were used for combustion of pelletised Sesbania and pelletised Swedish softwood alone or in mixtures with pelletised coffee husk, rice husk or water hyacinth. The CCN activity and the effective density were measured for particles with mobility diameters of v65, v100 and v200 nm, respectively, and occasionally for 350 nm particles. Particle number size distributions were measured online with a fast particle analyser. The chemical composition of the fuel ash was measured by application of standard protocols.The average particle number size distributions were by number typically dominated by an ultrafine mode, and in most cases a soot mode was centred around a mobility diameter of v150 nm. The CCN activities decreased with increasing particle size for all experiments and ranged in terms of the hygroscopicity parameter, from v0:1 to v0:8 for the ultrafine mode and from v0:001 to v0:15 for the soot mode. The CCN activity of the ultrafine mode increased (i) with increasing combustion temperature for a given fuel, and (ii) it typically increased with increasing potassium concentration in the investigated fuels. The primary CCN and the estimated particulate matter (PM) emission factors were typically found to increase significantly with increasing potassium concentration in the fuel for a given stove. In order to link CCN emission factors to PM emission factors, knowledge about stove technology, stove operation and the inorganic fuel ash composition is needed. This complicates the use of ambient PM levels alone for estimation of CCN concentrations in regions dominated by biomass combustion aerosol, with the relation turning even more complex when accounting for atmospheric ageing of the aerosol.
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| 10. |
- Madsen, Dan, et al.
(author)
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Fire-Induced Radiological Integrated Assessment : Fire properties of selected materials and products
- 2019
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Characterization of emissions from fires in a laboratory-controlled environment are presented in this report. The project is initiated by the CERN HSE Unit and is called FIRIA, Fire-Induced Radiological Integrated Assessment. The objective of FIRIA is to enhance the knowledge of aerosols emitted from fires in order to develop dispersion models of radiologically-activated material in case of fire. In this report, several normally occurring combustible products and materials are tested in a standardized setup for fire tests, the cone calorimeter. In the cone calorimeter, standardized fire tests according to ISO 5660-1:2015 have been performed as well as fire tests at reduced oxygen concentrations in a vitiated air chamber. As an additional setup, aerosol measurement equipment was coupled to the cone calorimeter ventilation duct to characterize the emitted aerosols as in the particle size distribution, mass yield and elemental analysis.The results show peak heat release rates for oil at 1100 kW/m2 at an incident heat flux of 50 kW/m2. Similar results for the plastic materials were 800 kW/m2. For cables and insulating plastic materials peak heat release rates at an incident heat flux of 50 kW/m2 were around 350 kW/m2. Significant for most of the cables was a heat release rate curve with two distinct peaks. This is proposed to be due to the outer combustible sheath burning first followed by the interior plastic insulating material of the cables burning. There could also be heat transfer effects and cracking of the material surface contributing to the two peaks. Nevertheless, for some cables a low incident heat flux led to only one peak indicating that only the sheath ignited. Time to ignition varied between the materials but was increased as the incident heat flux decreased. Reduced oxygen concentration in the vitiated air chamber also prolonged the ignition time as well as the heat release rates. The critical heat flux to ignite the cables was calculated to be just below 10 kW/m2. The oil and two cable types were tested in the vitiated air chamber to perform tests at reduced oxygen concentrations. These tests were performed to retrieve specific fire properties as well as specific emissions from such conditions. The tests were performed with a progressively lower oxygen concentrations until no ignition of the sample occurred. Results showed an ignition limit around 11-13 % oxygen at incident heat fluxes of 20-30 kW/m2. The tests in the vitiated air chamber is described in subreport FIRIA- Fire properties of selected materials and products in reduced oxygen conditions.
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