Particle emissions from domestic wood stoves under laboratory conditions

This study presents experimental results on particle emissions obtained from two commercially available Belgian made modern domestic wood stoves with capacity 10 kW and 20 kW under laboratory conditions. Five batches for the 10 kW stove and six batches for the 20 kW stove were done to get a clear picture of the emission results. The objectives of the paper was to evaluate particle mass concentrations (PM₁ and PM_2.5), number concentrations and particle size distributions in real time using an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor Plus (ELPI+) instrument from Dekati Ltd., Finland. The ELPI+ measures particles with a fast response time in a wide particle size range from 6 nm to 10 μm aerodynamic diameter. The measurement protocols of each combustion test were conducted according to the European standard EN 13229. The combustion experiments were conducted in a laboratory of a stove manufacturing plant in Namur, Belgium. PM₁ and PM_2.5 fractions of all the batches of both stoves varied from 108 to 327 mg/Nm³ and 130 to 420 mg/Nm³respectively in the main combustion phase. The particle mass size distribution during different phases of both wood stoves varied between 300 nm and 500 nm. Particle number concentrations measured from both stoves varied between 2.6×10⁷ to 5.0×10⁷ particles/cm³ in the main combustion phase. The startup phase of all the batches was characterized by higher particle number emissions than in the combustion phase. Particle number size distribution results show that all the phases have bimodal size distributions with one mode has a peak particle concentration at a particle size around 20 nm while another mode has maximum concentration between 70 nm to 125 nm. These ultrafine particles are very harmful for human health as they penetrate the alveolar region of the lung.