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

Andersen, Christina LU ; Omelekhina, Yuliya LU ; Rasmussen, Berit Brøndum LU ; Nygaard Bennekov, Mette LU ; Skov, Søren Nielsen LU ; Køcks, Morten LU ; Wang, Kai ; Strandberg, Bo LU ; Mattsson, Fredrik LU and Bilde, Merete , et al. (2021) In Indoor Air 31(6). p.2033-2048
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... (More)

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.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Indoor Air
volume
31
issue
6
pages
2033 - 2048
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85110946139
  • pmid:34297865
ISSN
0905-6947
DOI
10.1111/ina.12909
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2a78bd3c-ff53-4a0c-b513-3a58f1c79e5b
date added to LUP
2021-07-31 08:24:28
date last changed
2024-07-14 17:54:07
@article{2a78bd3c-ff53-4a0c-b513-3a58f1c79e5b,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Andersen, Christina and Omelekhina, Yuliya and Rasmussen, Berit Brøndum and Nygaard Bennekov, Mette and Skov, Søren Nielsen and Køcks, Morten and Wang, Kai and Strandberg, Bo and Mattsson, Fredrik and Bilde, Merete and Glasius, Marianne and Pagels, Joakim and Wierzbicka, Aneta}},
  issn         = {{0905-6947}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{2033--2048}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Indoor Air}},
  title        = {{Emissions of soot, PAHs, ultrafine particles, NOx, and other health relevant compounds from stressed burning of candles in indoor air}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ina.12909}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/ina.12909}},
  volume       = {{31}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}