Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
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2008
10.5194/acpd-8-4483-2008
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/4483/2008/
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/4483/2008/acpd-8-4483-2008.html
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/4483/2008/acpd-8-4483-2008.pdf
4483
4498
2008-03-04
Water vapor release from biofuel combustion
R. S. Parmar
M. Welling
M. O. Andreae
G. Helas
gth@mpch-mainz.mpg.de
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Biogeochemistry Department, P. O. Box 3060, 55020 Mainz, Germany
now at: IIMT Engineering College, Department of Applied Science, Meerut – 250001 (UP), India
We report on the emission of water vapor from biofuel combustion. Concurrent
measurements of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are used to scale the
concentrations of water vapor found, and are compared to carbon in the
biofuel. Fuel types included hardwood (oak and African musasa), softwood
(pine and spruce, partly with green needles), and African savanna grass. The
session-averaged ratio of H<sub>2</sub>O to the sum of CO and CO<sub>2</sub> in the
emissions from 16 combustion experiments ranged from 1.2 to 3.7 on average,
indicating the presence of water that is not chemically bound. This biofuel
moisture content ranged from 33% in the dry African hardwood, musasa, to
220% in fresh pine branches with needles. The moisture content from fresh
biofuel contributes distinctly to the water vapor in biomass burning
emissions, and its influence on meteorology needs to be evaluated.
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