Hochschule für Technik und Umwelt FHNW

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Bereich: Suchergebnisse

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  • Publikation
    Growth and structural change of combustion aerosols at high relative humidity
    (American Chemical Society, 01.12.1995) Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs; Burtscher, Heinz
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Hygroscopic properties of carbon and diesel soot particles
    (Elsevier, 08/1997) Weingartner, Ernest; Burtscher, Heinz; Baltensperger, Urs
    Laboratory experiments were performed in order to study the hygroscopic properties of freshly produced carbon and diesel soot particles at subsaturations (i.e. at relative humidity < 100%). Wetted carbon aggregates collapsed to a more compact structure. In contrast, the diesel combustion particles exhibited a much smaller restructuring combined with condensational growth. The hygroscopicity of the diesel particles was enhanced when the sulfur content of the fuel was increased or when the particles were subjected to an ozone and UV pre-treatment. By extrapolating the data with a Köhler model critical supersaturations were calculated. Freshly emitted combustion particles are unlikely to act as cloud condensation nuclei whereas an aging of the particles will enhance their nucleation ability.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Aerosol emission in a road tunnel
    (Elsevier, 02/1997) Weingartner, Ernest; Keller, Christian; Stahel, Werner; Burtscher, Heinz; Baltensperger, Urs
    Continuous measurements of aerosol emissions were performed within the scope of emission measurements in the Gubrist tunnel, a 3250 m long freeway tunnel near Zürich, Switzerland, from 20 September to 26 September 1993. The particles in the respirable size range (d < 3 μm) were found to be mainly tail pipe emissions with very small amount of tire wear and road dust. The calculated PM3 emission factor for diesel engines was about 310 mg/km, where the main part (63%) of the diesel vehicles were heavy-duty vehicles. Thirty-one percent of the PM3 emissions from diesel vehicles were black carbon and 0.86% particle bound PAR Due to the high fraction emitted by diesel engines the contribution of gasoline engines could not be evaluated by the statistical model. During their residence time in the tunnel the particles undergo significant changes, resulting in a more compact structure. It is concluded that this is mainly due to adsorption of volatile material from the gas phase to the particle surface.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Separation of volatile and non-volatile aerosol fractions by thermodesorption. instrumental development and applications
    (Elsevier, 04/2001) Burtscher, Heinz; Baltensperger, Urs; Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Cohn, P.; Hüglin, Christoph; Mohr, Martin; Matter, Urs; Nyeki, Stephan; Schmatloch, Volker; Streit, Niklaus; Weingartner, Ernest
    An instrument to remove volatile material from aerosol particles by thermal desorption is presented. The thermodesorber consists of a heated tube, where volatile material is desorbed from the particles, and a water- or air-cooled tube, consisting of activated charcoal. This last tube removes desorbed material and thus prevents it from re-adsorbing onto particles. Although designed for measuring particulate emissions from combustion processes it can also be applied to atmospheric aerosols. After theoretical and experimental determination of thermodesorber operating characteristics (temperature profile, losses, removal of desorbed material), examples of applications in several fields are given. Examples of atmospheric measurements at several remote and urban sites are presented. In combustion technology, the thermodesorber is applied to remove all volatile materials, allowing separation of volatile species and the non-volatile core (mainly elemental carbon) of combustion particles. Finally, the thermodesorber is used to study adsorption and desorption processes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on particles.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Real-time characterization of ultrafine and accumulation mode particles in ambient combustion aerosols
    (Elsevier, 08/2002) Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Kittelson, David B.; Watts, Winthrop F.; Burtscher, Heinz; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs
    The diffusion charging sensor (DC), photoelectric aerosol sensor (PAS) and condensation particle counter (CPC) are real-time particle instruments that have time resolutions < 10s and are suitable for field use. This paper shows how the relative fraction of nuclei mode particles (D ≤ 50nm) in ambient combustion aerosols can be determined, along with the coverage degree of the respective accumulation mode particles with a modal diameter of ~ 100nm. Main tools for interpretation are the diameter of average surface DAve,S (obtained from CPC and DC measurements) and PAS/DC versus DAve,S scatter plots. Compared to the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), which is a standard instrument for aerosol particle size distribution measurements, the presented method has a limited accuracy, but is substantially faster. Additionally, it is experimentally less demanding than SMPS measurements, especially for field applications.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Development of an airborne sensor for reliable detection of volcanic ash
    (IEEE, 2016) Weingartner, Ernest; Jurányi, Zsofia; Egli, Daniel; Steigmeier, Peter; Burtscher, Heinz
    This sensor detects volcanic ash particles and distinguishes them from cloud droplets. Operated on an airplane, this detector can quantify the exposure to hazardous refractory ash and the in-situ measurement is not biased by the presence of cloud particles. A volcanic eruption emits a significant amount of hazardous ash particles into the air. If the event is strong enough, the volcanic ash plume can reach high altitudes and can be a serious security risk for airplanes. We have developed a new prototype aerosol sensor for the reliable detection of volcanic ash. The envisaged application is the employment of this new technique on board of passenger aircraft. It allows in-situ monitoring of the airplane's exposure to volcanic ash. The challenge of this development is the requirement that the sensor can distinguish cloud droplets (or ice crystals) from the hazardous refractory ash particles. At aviation altitudes, water droplets and ice crystals are often present in the particle size region of the ash (1-20 micrometer) and their concentrations can reach the levels that are considered as the limits of the different volcanic ash contamination zones. Therefore, it is crucial that the sensor can differentiate between volcanic ash and water or ice particles. The sensor measures the scattered light intensities from individual particles outside of the airplane cabin through a glass window. The desired discrimination is achieved with two lasers operating at different wavelengths. Ash concentrations (in terms of number and mass) are derived, and the exposure of the airplane is recorded and transmitted in real time to the pilot. The volcanic ash detector was tested in the laboratory with various test aerosols and micrometer-sized water droplets. Then, ground-based outdoor measurements were conducted and the instrument response to mineral dust (a surrogate for volcanic ash) and natural cloud droplets (and ice crystals) was investigated. In a next step, this new technique will be tested in summer 2016 on-board of a research aircraft.
    04B - Beitrag Konferenzschrift
  • Vorschaubild
    Publikation
    Dual-wavelength light-scattering technique for selective detection of volcanic ash particles in the presence of water droplets
    (Copernicus, 2015) Jurányi, Zsófia; Burtscher, Heinz; Loepfe, Markus; Nenkov, Maxim; Weingartner, Ernest
    A new method is presented in this paper which analyses the scattered light of individual aerosol particles simultaneously at two different wavelengths in order to retrieve information on the particle type. We show that dust-like particles, such as volcanic ash, can be unambiguously discriminated from water droplets on a single-particle level. As a future application of this method, the detection of volcanic ash particles should be possible in a humid atmosphere in the presence of cloud droplets. The characteristic behaviour of pure water's refractive index can be used to separate water droplets and dust-like particles which are commonly found in the micrometre size range in the ambient air. The low real part of the water's refractive index around 2700–2800 nm results in low scattered light intensities compared to e.g. the visible wavelength range, and this feature can be used for the desired particle identification. The two-wavelength measurement set-up was theoretically and experimentally tested and studied. Theoretical calculations were done using Mie theory. Comparing the ratio of the scattered light at the two wavelengths (visible-to-IR (infrared), R value) for water droplets and different dust types (basalt, andesite, African mineral dust, sand, volcanic ash, pumice) showed at least 9-times-higher values (on average 70 times) for water droplets than for the dust types at any diameter within the particle size range of 2–20 μm. The envisaged measurement set-up was built up into a laboratory prototype and was tested with different types of aerosols. We generated aerosols from the following powders, simulating dust-like particles: cement dust, ISO 12103-1 A1 Ultrafine Test Dust and ash from the 2012 eruption of the Etna volcano. Our measurements verified the theoretical considerations; the median experimental R value is 8–21 times higher for water than for the "dust" particles.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild
    Publikation
    Responses of reconstituted human bronchial epithelia from normal and health-compromised donors to non-volatile particulate matter emissions from an aircraft turbofan engine
    (Elsevier, 15.08.2022) Delaval, Mathilde N.; Jonsdottir, Hulda R.; Leni, Zaira; Keller, Alejandro; Brem, Benjamin T.; Siegerist, Frithjof; Schönenberger, David; Durdina, Lukas; Elser, Miriam; Salathe, Matthias; Baumlin, Nathalie; Lobo, Prem; Burtscher, Heinz; Liati, Anthi; Geiser, Marianne
    Health effects of particulate matter (PM) from aircraft engines have not been adequately studied since controlled laboratory studies reflecting realistic conditions regarding aerosols, target tissue, particle exposure and deposited particle dose are logistically challenging. Due to the important contributions of aircraft engine emissions to air pollution, we employed a unique experimental setup to deposit exhaust particles directly from an aircraft engine onto reconstituted human bronchial epithelia (HBE) at air-liquid interface under conditions similar to in vivo airways to mimic realistic human exposure. The toxicity of non-volatile PM (nvPM) from a CFM56-7B26 aircraft engine was evaluated under realistic engine conditions by sampling and exposing HBE derived from donors of normal and compromised health status to exhaust for 1 h followed by biomarker analysis 24 h post exposure. Particle deposition varied depending on the engine thrust levels with 85% thrust producing the highest nvPM mass and number emissions with estimated surface deposition of 3.17 × 109 particles cm−2 or 337.1 ng cm−2. Transient increase in cytotoxicity was observed after exposure to nvPM in epithelia derived from a normal donor as well as a decrease in the secretion of interleukin 6 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1. Non-replicated multiple exposures of epithelia derived from a normal donor to nvPM primarily led to a pro-inflammatory response, while both cytotoxicity and oxidative stress induction remained unaffected. This raises concerns for the long-term implications of aircraft nvPM for human pulmonary health, especially in occupational settings.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild
    Publikation
    Non-volatile particle emissions from aircraft turbine engines at ground-idle induce oxidative stress in bronchial cells
    (Nature, 05.03.2019) Jonsdottir, Hulda R.; Delaval, Mathilde; Leni, Zaira; Keller, Alejandro; Brem, Benjamin T.; Siegerist, Frithjof; Schönenberger, David; Durdina, Lukas; Elser, Miriam; Burtscher, Heinz; Liati, Anthi; Geiser, Marianne
    Aircraft emissions contribute to local and global air pollution. Health effects of particulate matter (PM) from aircraft engines are largely unknown, since controlled cell exposures at relevant conditions are challenging. We examined the toxicity of non-volatile PM (nvPM) emissions from a CFM56-7B26 turbofan, the world’s most used aircraft turbine using an unprecedented exposure setup. We combined direct turbine-exhaust sampling under realistic engine operating conditions and the Nano-Aerosol Chamber for In vitro Toxicity to deposit particles onto air–liquid-interface cultures of human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) at physiological conditions. We evaluated acute cellular responses after 1-h exposures to diluted exhaust from conventional or alternative fuel combustion. We show that single, short-term exposures to nvPM impair bronchial epithelial cells, and PM from conventional fuel at ground-idle conditions is the most hazardous. Electron microscopy of soot reveals varying reactivity matching the observed cellular responses. Stronger responses at lower mass concentrations suggest that additional metrics are necessary to evaluate health risks of this increasingly important emission source.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Characterizing particulate emissions from wood burning appliances including secondary organic aerosol formation potential
    (Elsevier, 31.08.2017) Keller, Alejandro; Burtscher, Heinz
    Biomass burning is a major contributor to environmental particulate matter pollution and should therefore be contemplated by emission control legislation. However, policy decisions for improving air quality by imposing emission limits are only as good as the selected metric. We discuss an approach that incorporates recent scientific results and is compatible with type-approval testing and field measurements. We include potential secondary organic aerosol (SOA) by aging emissions in an oxidation flow reactor. Quantification is done by particle-bound total carbon analysis. Total carbon is the fraction relevant to combustion quality and a better marker for toxicity than total particulate matter, which also includes salts and ashes. The data is complemented by on-line size distribution measurements. We exemplify our approach by showing measurements performed on a variety of appliances. Our measurements suggest that non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) species with very low volatility are responsible for most of the SOA. Condensing and precipitating this fraction significantly reduces SOA potential but has no noticeable impact on total NMHC. Thus, key precursors of SOA may be a much smaller subset than previously thought. Targeting this fraction could be a straightforward SOA mitigation strategy. These results could not have been derived using the current standard emission control metrics.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift