Determination of chemical composition and mutagenicity in particles from chainsaw exhaust. Experimental set-up, stability and results from two different fuels

• A dilution tunnel for sampling of particles and gaseous emissions in chainsaw exhaust was constructed and tested for reproducibility. In addition the equipment was used to measure chainsaw emissions when using two different fuels, aliphatic petrol with synthetic lubricating oil and regular lead-free petrol with mineral lubricating oil. The content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and the mutagenicity of sampled particles were measured as well as the concentration of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and aldehydes in the exhaust. particles were sampled isokinetically and collected on a filter followed by two polyurethane foam plugs (PUF) in series for sampling of the semivolatile components. PAH were analysed by a coupled liquid chromatography - gas chromatography (LC-GC) system and mutagenicity testing was carried out by using Ames Salmonella assay. The measured physical parameters as well as the particulate, semivolatile and gaseous emissions showed that reproducible measurements of exhaust emissions could be achieved using this experimental set-up. In terms of mutagenicity when testing for reproducibility, a small but significant effect was observed for the Salmonella strains TA98 and TA100 in the absence of a metabolizing system, both for the particulate phase and the semivolatile components. A significant difference was seen between the two different fuels tested, the conventional petrol with mineral oil having 5-10 times higher concentrations of different PAH compounds and a much higher mutagenic effect for all strains. This difference was seen both for the particulate phase and the semivolatile components.

Keyword

two-stroke engine

chainsaw

exhaust emissions

PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)

mutagenicity

dilution tunnel

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)