Burtscher, Heinz

Profilbild
E-Mail-Adresse
Geburtsdatum
Projekt
Organisationseinheiten
Berufsbeschreibung
Nachname
Burtscher
Vorname
Heinz
Name
Burtscher, Heinz

Filter

2017 - 20192
Filter zurücksetzen

Einstellungen

Autor:in: Keller, Alejandro × Enddatum: 2019 ×

Suchergebnisse

Gerade angezeigt 1 - 2 von 2
  • 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 [in: Communications Biology]
    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
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Characterizing particulate emissions from wood burning appliances including secondary organic aerosol formation potential
    (Elsevier, 31.08.2017) Keller, Alejandro; Burtscher, Heinz [in: Journal of Aerosol Science]
    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