Black Carbon and Brown Carbon from combustion of two chilean native species using a controlled combustion chamber for emissions

The use of biomass as fuel has historically been practiced because of its low commercial value and the ancestral tradition that it supposes. In Chile, this item ranks third in the country's final energy consumption matrix. However, their use generates important emissions that have effects on visibility, human health and climate change, among others. The objective of this research was to determine the emission factors (FE) for black carbon (BC) and brown carbon (BrC) generated by Nothofagus obliqua (Oak) and Nothofagus pumilio (Lenga), using a Controlled Combustion Chamber of Emissions (3CE). The biomass was burned using controlled granulometry and under dried conditions (0% moisture wood). The BC and BrC were measured using an Aethalometer AE33, Magee Scientific, USA, calibrated at 880 nm for BC and at 370 nm for BrC determination. Finally, the results showed a relation EFBC/EFBrC = 2 for both species, EFBC are 50% higher than EFBrC. About the sum of (EFBC and EFBrC) presents in the PM2.5 fraction, it was 43 ± 2% and 24 ± 3%, for Nothofagus pumilio and Nothofagus obliqua, respectively. In conclusion, although the EFBC + EFBrC proportion present in PM2.5 in Nothofagus pumilio is higher than Nothofagus obliqua, the EFPM2.5 for Nothofagus pumilio is lower than Nothofagus obliqua, therefore the best native species for residential combustion is Nothofagus pumilio. These results are very important, because all these EF provide relevant information relative to the short-lived climate pollutants, as well as the impact that urban pollution can have on climate change.