Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NOx, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air

Christina Andersen; Yuliya Omelekhina; Berit Brøndum Rasmussen; Mette Nygaard Bennekov; Søren Nielsen Skov; Morten Køcks; Kai Wang; Bo Strandberg; Fredrik Mattsson; Merete Bilde; Marianne Glasius; Joakim Pagels; Aneta Wierzbicka

doi:10.1111/ina.12909

Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NO_x, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air

Christina Andersen, Yuliya Omelekhina^*, Berit Brøndum Rasmussen, Mette Nygaard Bennekov, Søren Nielsen Skov, Morten Køcks, Kai Wang, Bo Strandberg, Fredrik Mattsson, Merete Bilde, Marianne Glasius, Joakim Pagels, Aneta Wierzbicka^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Burning candles release a variety of pollutants to indoor air, some of which are of concern for human health. We studied emissions of particles and gases from the stressed burning of five types of pillar candles with different wax and wick compositions. The stressed burning was introduced by controlled fluctuating air velocities in a 21.6 m³ laboratory chamber. The aerosol physicochemical properties were measured both in well-mixed chamber air and directly above the candle flame with online and offline techniques. All candles showed different emission profiles over time with high repeatability among replicates. The particle mass emissions from stressed burning for all candle types were dominated by soot (black carbon; BC). The wax and wick composition strongly influenced emissions of BC, PM_2.5, and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and to lower degree ultrafine particles, inorganic and organic carbon fraction of PM, but did not influence NO_x, formaldehyde, and gas-phase PAHs. Measurements directly above the flame showed empirical evidence of short-lived strong emission peaks of soot particles. The results show the importance of including the entire burn time of candles in exposure assessments, as their emissions can vary strongly over time. Preventing stressed burning of candles can reduce exposure to pollutants in indoor air.

Original language	English
Journal	Indoor Air
Volume	31
Issue	6
Pages (from-to)	2033-2048
Number of pages	16
ISSN	0905-6947
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12909
Publication status	Published - Nov 2021

Keywords

aerosol
airborne particles
black carbon
candle emissions
flickering candle flame
gaseous pollutants
RESIDENTIAL OUTDOOR
COMBUSTION
AEROSOLS
POLLUTANTS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS
PM2.5 TRACE-ELEMENTS
PERSONAL EXPOSURES
HIGH-RESOLUTION
FINE
SOURCE APPORTIONMENT

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Indoor Air - 2021 - Andersen - Emissions of soot PAHs ultrafine particles NOx and other health relevant compounds fromFinal published version, 874 KBLicence: CC BY

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Andersen, C., Omelekhina, Y., Rasmussen, B. B., Nygaard Bennekov, M., Skov, S. N., Køcks, M., Wang, K., Strandberg, B., Mattsson, F., Bilde, M., Glasius, M., Pagels, J., & Wierzbicka, A. (2021). Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NO_x, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air. Indoor Air, 31(6), 2033-2048. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12909

@article{42a0970efb3e439b916c6081f69776d7,

title = "Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NOx, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air",

abstract = "Burning candles release a variety of pollutants to indoor air, some of which are of concern for human health. We studied emissions of particles and gases from the stressed burning of five types of pillar candles with different wax and wick compositions. The stressed burning was introduced by controlled fluctuating air velocities in a 21.6 m3 laboratory chamber. The aerosol physicochemical properties were measured both in well-mixed chamber air and directly above the candle flame with online and offline techniques. All candles showed different emission profiles over time with high repeatability among replicates. The particle mass emissions from stressed burning for all candle types were dominated by soot (black carbon; BC). The wax and wick composition strongly influenced emissions of BC, PM2.5, and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and to lower degree ultrafine particles, inorganic and organic carbon fraction of PM, but did not influence NOx, formaldehyde, and gas-phase PAHs. Measurements directly above the flame showed empirical evidence of short-lived strong emission peaks of soot particles. The results show the importance of including the entire burn time of candles in exposure assessments, as their emissions can vary strongly over time. Preventing stressed burning of candles can reduce exposure to pollutants in indoor air.",

keywords = "aerosol, airborne particles, black carbon, candle emissions, flickering candle flame, gaseous pollutants, RESIDENTIAL OUTDOOR, COMBUSTION, AEROSOLS, POLLUTANTS, POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS, PM2.5 TRACE-ELEMENTS, PERSONAL EXPOSURES, HIGH-RESOLUTION, FINE, SOURCE APPORTIONMENT",

author = "Christina Andersen and Yuliya Omelekhina and Rasmussen, {Berit Br{\o}ndum} and {Nygaard Bennekov}, Mette and Skov, {S{\o}ren Nielsen} and Morten K{\o}cks and Kai Wang and Bo Strandberg and Fredrik Mattsson and Merete Bilde and Marianne Glasius and Joakim Pagels and Aneta Wierzbicka",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Indoor Air published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

year = "2021",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1111/ina.12909",

language = "English",

volume = "31",

pages = "2033--2048",

journal = "Indoor Air",

issn = "0905-6947",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.",

number = "6",

}

Andersen, C, Omelekhina, Y, Rasmussen, BB, Nygaard Bennekov, M, Skov, SN, Køcks, M, Wang, K, Strandberg, B, Mattsson, F, Bilde, M , Glasius, M, Pagels, J & Wierzbicka, A 2021, 'Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NO_x, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air', Indoor Air, vol. 31, no. 6, pp. 2033-2048. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12909

Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NO_x, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air. / Andersen, Christina; Omelekhina, Yuliya; Rasmussen, Berit Brøndum et al.
In: Indoor Air, Vol. 31, No. 6, 11.2021, p. 2033-2048.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NOx, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air

AU - Andersen, Christina

AU - Omelekhina, Yuliya

AU - Rasmussen, Berit Brøndum

AU - Nygaard Bennekov, Mette

AU - Skov, Søren Nielsen

AU - Køcks, Morten

AU - Wang, Kai

AU - Strandberg, Bo

AU - Mattsson, Fredrik

AU - Bilde, Merete

AU - Glasius, Marianne

AU - Pagels, Joakim

AU - Wierzbicka, Aneta

PY - 2021/11

Y1 - 2021/11

N2 - Burning candles release a variety of pollutants to indoor air, some of which are of concern for human health. We studied emissions of particles and gases from the stressed burning of five types of pillar candles with different wax and wick compositions. The stressed burning was introduced by controlled fluctuating air velocities in a 21.6 m3 laboratory chamber. The aerosol physicochemical properties were measured both in well-mixed chamber air and directly above the candle flame with online and offline techniques. All candles showed different emission profiles over time with high repeatability among replicates. The particle mass emissions from stressed burning for all candle types were dominated by soot (black carbon; BC). The wax and wick composition strongly influenced emissions of BC, PM2.5, and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and to lower degree ultrafine particles, inorganic and organic carbon fraction of PM, but did not influence NOx, formaldehyde, and gas-phase PAHs. Measurements directly above the flame showed empirical evidence of short-lived strong emission peaks of soot particles. The results show the importance of including the entire burn time of candles in exposure assessments, as their emissions can vary strongly over time. Preventing stressed burning of candles can reduce exposure to pollutants in indoor air.

AB - Burning candles release a variety of pollutants to indoor air, some of which are of concern for human health. We studied emissions of particles and gases from the stressed burning of five types of pillar candles with different wax and wick compositions. The stressed burning was introduced by controlled fluctuating air velocities in a 21.6 m3 laboratory chamber. The aerosol physicochemical properties were measured both in well-mixed chamber air and directly above the candle flame with online and offline techniques. All candles showed different emission profiles over time with high repeatability among replicates. The particle mass emissions from stressed burning for all candle types were dominated by soot (black carbon; BC). The wax and wick composition strongly influenced emissions of BC, PM2.5, and particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and to lower degree ultrafine particles, inorganic and organic carbon fraction of PM, but did not influence NOx, formaldehyde, and gas-phase PAHs. Measurements directly above the flame showed empirical evidence of short-lived strong emission peaks of soot particles. The results show the importance of including the entire burn time of candles in exposure assessments, as their emissions can vary strongly over time. Preventing stressed burning of candles can reduce exposure to pollutants in indoor air.

KW - aerosol

KW - airborne particles

KW - black carbon

KW - candle emissions

KW - flickering candle flame

KW - gaseous pollutants

KW - RESIDENTIAL OUTDOOR

KW - COMBUSTION

KW - AEROSOLS

KW - POLLUTANTS

KW - POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS

KW - PM2.5 TRACE-ELEMENTS

KW - PERSONAL EXPOSURES

KW - HIGH-RESOLUTION

KW - FINE

KW - SOURCE APPORTIONMENT

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110946139&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/ina.12909

DO - 10.1111/ina.12909

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34297865

AN - SCOPUS:85110946139

SN - 0905-6947

VL - 31

SP - 2033

EP - 2048

JO - Indoor Air

JF - Indoor Air

IS - 6

ER -

Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NO_x, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air

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