Modeling study of the hygroscopic, optical, and cloud-activation properties of aerosols from biofuel combustion
type: CreativeWork
description: Residential combustion of biofuel is an important source of aerosols and gases in the atmosphere. Emissions from biofuel combustion can affect the climate due to the presence of warming species that absorb radiation like black carbon and greenhouse gases, or cooling due to aerosols that scatter radiation back to space and affect cloud characteristics. The climate impact of emissions from biofuel combustion is uncertain in part due uncertainties in the physical, chemical, and optical properties of biofuel burning aerosols. This dissertation is divided into three investigations that address this gap in knowledge by providing information on the size distribution, mixing state, hygroscopicity, optical properties, CCN activity, and total quantity of aerosols emitted from biofuel combustion. The change in cloud characteristics due to biofuel burning aerosols is uncertain, in part, due to the uncertainty in the added number of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) from biofuel burning. In the first investigation of this dissertation, I provide estimates of the CCN activity of biofuel burning aerosols by explicitly modeling plume dynamics (coagulation, condensation, chemical reactions, and dilution) in a young biofuel burning plume from emission until the plume reaches ambient temperature and specific humidity through entrainment. I found that aerosol-scale dynamics affect the average aerosol size and hygroscopicity only during the first few seconds of evolution, after which they reach a constant value. Homogenizing factors of the aerosol population mixing state are co-emission of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) or emission at small aerosol sizes. SVOC co-emission can be the main factor determining CCN activity for hydrophobic or small aerosols. Coagulation limits emission of CCN to about 1016 per kg of fuel. Depending on emission factor, aerosol size, and composition, some of these aerosols may not activate at low supersaturation. Hygroscopic Aitken mode aerosols can con…
abstract: Residential combustion of biofuel is an important source of aerosols and gases in the atmosphere. Emissions from biofuel combustion can affect the climate due to the presence of warming species that absorb radiation like black carbon and greenhouse gases, or cooling due to aerosols that scatter radiation back to space and affect cloud characteristics. The climate impact of emissions from biofuel combustion is uncertain in part due uncertainties in the physical, chemical, and optical properties of biofuel burning aerosols. This dissertation is divided into three investigations that address this gap in knowledge by providing information on the size distribution, mixing state, hygroscopicity, optical properties, CCN activity, and total quantity of aerosols emitted from biofuel combustion. The change in cloud characteristics due to biofuel burning aerosols is uncertain, in part, due to the uncertainty in the added number of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) from biofuel burning. In the first investigation of this dissertation, I provide estimates of the CCN activity of biofuel burning aerosols by explicitly modeling plume dynamics (coagulation, condensation, chemical reactions, and dilution) in a young biofuel burning plume from emission until the plume reaches ambient temperature and specific humidity through entrainment. I found that aerosol-scale dynamics affect the average aerosol size and hygroscopicity only during the first few seconds of evolution, after which they reach a constant value. Homogenizing factors of the aerosol population mixing state are co-emission of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) or emission at small aerosol sizes. SVOC co-emission can be the main factor determining CCN activity for hydrophobic or small aerosols. Coagulation limits emission of CCN to about 1016 per kg of fuel. Depending on emission factor, aerosol size, and composition, some of these aerosols may not activate at low supersaturation. Hygroscopic Aitken mode aerosols can con…
author: Mena Gonzalez, Francisco Camilo
language: en
keywords: aerosol, biofuel, hygroscopic, activation, CCN, organic carbon, light absorption, aerosol mass concentration, scattering
date published: 2018-09-04T20:27:19Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:38Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101025