A Laboratory Comparison of Emission Factors, Number Size Distributions, and Morphology of Ultrafine Particles from 11 Different Household Cookstove-Fuel Systems.

Ultrafine particle (UFP) emissions and particle number size distributions (PNSD) are critical in the evaluation of air pollution impacts; however, data on UFP number emissions from cookstoves, which are a major source of many pollutants, are limited. In this study, 11 fuel-stove combinations covering a variety of fuels and different stoves are investigated for UFP emissions and PNSD. The combustion of LPG and alcohol (∼10 particles per useful energy delivered, particles/MJ), and kerosene (∼10 particles/MJ), produced emissions that were lower by 2-3 orders of magnitude than solid fuels (10-10 particles/MJ).

An investigation of micro-hollow cathode glow discharge generated optical emission spectroscopy for hydrocarbon detection and differentiation.

The analytical utility of a micro-hollow cathode glow discharge plasma for detection of varied hydrocarbons was tested using acetone, ethanol, heptane, nitrobenzene, and toluene. Differences in fragmentation pathways, reflecting parent compound molecular structure, led to differences in optical emission patterns that can then potentially serve as signatures for the species of interest. Spectral simulations were performed emphasizing the CH (A(2)Δ-X(2)Π), CH (C(2)Σ-X(2)Π), and OH (A(2)Σ(+)-X(2)Π) electronic systems.

Atmospheric microplasma jet: spectroscopic database development and analytical results.

This paper presents a developed dielectric-barrier-discharge-based "sniffer" that offers unique characteristics not available from other techniques. It is a portable, highly specific, and sensitive detector that operates at atmospheric pressure. It provides both molecular and elemental information on organic and inorganic gases and particulate aerosols.