Ice‐nucleating particle emissions from biomass combustion and the potential importance of soot aerosol

E. J. T Levin; G. R McMeeking; P. J DeMott; C. S McCluskey; C. M Carrico; S Nakao; T Jayarathne; E. A Stone; C. E Stockwell; R. J Yokelson; S. M Kreidenweis

doi:10.1002/2016JD024879

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Ice‐nucleating particle emissions from biomass combustion and the potential importance of soot aerosol

Journal article

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Ice‐nucleating particle emissions from biomass combustion and the potential importance of soot aerosol

E. J. T Levin, G. R McMeeking, P. J DeMott, C. S McCluskey, C. M Carrico, S Nakao, T Jayarathne, E. A Stone, C. E Stockwell, R. J Yokelson, …

Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres, Vol.121(10), pp.5888-5903

05/27/2016

DOI: 10.1002/2016JD024879

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Abstract

Ice‐nucleating particles (INPs) are required for initial ice crystal formation in clouds at temperatures warmer than about −36°C and thus play a crucial role in cloud and precipitation formation. Biomass burning has been found to be a source of INPs in previous studies and is also a major contributor to atmospheric black carbon (BC) concentrations. This study focuses on isolating the BC contribution to the INP population associated with biomass combustion. Emissions of condensation mode INPs from a number of globally relevant biomass fuels were measured at −30°C and above water saturation as fires progressed from ignition to extinguishment in a laboratory setting. Number emissions of INPs were found to be highest during intense flaming combustion (modified combustion efficiency > 0.95). Overall, combustion emissions from 13 of 22 different biomass fuel types produced measurable INP concentrations for at least one replicate experiment. On average, all burns that produced measureable INPs had higher combustion efficiency, which is associated with higher BC emissions, than those that did not produce measureable INPs. Across all burns that produced measureable INPs, concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 10 cm−3, and the median emission factor was about 2 × 107 INPs per kilogram of fuel burned. For a subset of the burns, the contribution of refractory black carbon (rBC) to INP concentrations was determined by removing rBC via laser‐induced incandescence. Reductions in INPs of 0–70% were observed, indicating an important contribution of rBC particles to INP concentrations for some burns, especially marsh grasses. Key Points Fires emit ice‐nucleating particles Black carbon contributes to the INPs emitted from fires Fire emissions have lower ice‐nucleating efficiency than other sources

biomass combustion

black carbon

ice‐nucleating particles

Details

Title: Subtitle: Ice‐nucleating particle emissions from biomass combustion and the potential importance of soot aerosol
Creators: E. J. T Levin - Colorado State University
G. R McMeeking - Now at Handix Scientific
P. J DeMott - Colorado State University
C. S McCluskey - Colorado State University
C. M Carrico - New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
S Nakao - Clarkson University
T Jayarathne - University of Iowa
E. A Stone - University of Iowa
C. E Stockwell - University of Montana
R. J Yokelson - University of Montana
S. M Kreidenweis - Colorado State University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres, Vol.121(10), pp.5888-5903
DOI: 10.1002/2016JD024879
ISSN: 2169-897X
eISSN: 2169-8996
Number of pages: 16
Grant note: NSF (ATM‐0936321) NASA Earth Science Division (NNX12AH17G)
Language: English
Date published: 05/27/2016
Academic Unit: Chemistry; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984216601902771

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