Emission characterization of particulate/gaseous phases and size association for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from residential coal combustion

The emission characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from the commonly used residential coal-stove in China was studied, including the partition between the particulate and gaseous phases and the distribution as a function of particle size. Smoke samples were taken by a PUF sampler and a size-segregated sampler through a dilution equipment and analyzed for PAHs using GC/MS. The contribution of vapor phase to the total PAHs emitted was very important. The emission factors of 17 PAHs and 10 genotoxic PAHs on a coal-weight basis were 116.65 and 18.41 μg/kg, respectively, greatly lower than the extraction rates of the raw anthracite coal (2514.50 and 1343.56 μg/kg, respectively). The residential coal-stove burning honeycomb coal briquettes was identified as a clean combustion system. Submicron particles dominated the size distribution of PAHs mass, and higher molecular weight PAHs tend to distribute in finer particles.