Measurement of Emissions from Air Pollution Sources. 1. C_1 through C_(29) Organic Compounds from Meat Charbroiling

Abstract

A dilution source sampling system was used to quantify the organic air pollutant emissions from commercial-scale meat charbroiling operations. Emission rates of gas-phase volatile organic compounds, semivolatile organic compounds, and high molecular weight particle-phase organic compounds were simultaneously quantified on a single compound basis. Fine particle mass emission rates and fine particle elemental chemical composition were measured as well. Emission rates of 120 organic compounds, spanning carbon numbers from C1 to C29 were quantified including n-alkanoic acids, n-alkenoic acids, carbonyls, lactones, alkanes, aromatics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkenes, and steroids. Ethylene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde were found to be the predominant light gas-phase organic compounds emitted from the charbroiling operations. n-Alkanoic acids, n-alkenoic acids, and carbonyls made up a significant fraction of the quantified semivolatile and particle-phase organic compound emissions. Meat charbroiling is one of the few sources identified to date that contributes to the high molecular weight aldehydes measured in the urban atmosphere. Semivolatile and particle-phase organic compounds were collected for quantification by two simultaneous sampling protocols:  (1) quartz fiber filters followed by polyurethane foam (PUF) cartridges, and (2) XAD-coated annular denuders followed by quartz fiber filters and PUF cartridges. Good agreement was observed for the total mass emissions collected by the two different sampling procedures; however, the partitioning of the semivolatile organic compounds between the gas phase and particle phase, as measured by the two sampling procedures, showed significant differences for n-alkanoic acids, indicating that significant artifact adsorption of these compounds occurs to the filter in the filter/PUF sampling system.

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