Carlo Bozzetti

Characterization of Gas-Phase Organics Using Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: Cooking Emissions.

Cooking processes produce gaseous and particle emissions that are potentially deleterious to human health. Using a highly controlled experimental setup involving a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS), we investigate the emission factors and the detailed chemical composition of gas phase emissions from a broad variety of cooking styles and techniques. A total of 95 experiments were conducted to characterize nonmethane organic gas (NMOG) emissions from boiling, charbroiling, shallow frying, and deep frying of various vegetables and meats, as well as emissions from vegetable oils heated to different temperatures. Emissions from boiling vegetables are dominated by methanol. Significant amounts of dimethyl sulfide are emitted from cruciferous vegetables. Emissions from shallow frying, deep frying and charbroiling are dominated by aldehydes of differing relative composition depending on the oil used. We show that the emission factors of some aldehydes are particularly large which may result in considerable negative impacts on human health in indoor environments. The suitability of some of the aldehydes as tracers for the identification of cooking emissions in ambient air is discussed.

Size-Resolved Identification, Characterization, and Quantification of Primary Biological Organic Aerosol at a European Rural Site

Primary biological organic aerosols (PBOA) represent a major component of the coarse organic matter (OMCOARSE, aerodynamic diameter > 2.5 μm). Although this fraction affects human health and the climate, its quantification and chemical characterization currently remain elusive. We present the first quantification of the entire PBOACOARSE mass and its main sources by analyzing size-segregated filter samples collected during the summer and winter at the rural site of Payerne (Switzerland), representing a continental Europe background environment. The size-segregated water-soluble OM was analyzed by a newly developed offline aerosol mass spectrometric technique (AMS). Collected spectra were analyzed by three-dimensional positive matrix factorization (3D-PMF), showing that PBOA represented the main OMCOARSE source during summer and its contribution to PM10 was comparable to that of secondary organic aerosol. We found substantial cellulose contributions to OMCOARSE, which in combination with gas chromatography mass spectrometry molecular markers quantification, underlined the predominance of plant debris. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis instead revealed that the sum of bacterial and fungal spores mass represented only a minor OMCOARSE fraction (<0.1%). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis of C and N binding energies throughout the size fractions revealed an organic N increase in the PM10 compared to PM1 consistent with AMS observations.

Indoor terpene emissions from cooking with herbs and pepper and their secondary organic aerosol production potential

Cooking is widely recognized as an important source of indoor and outdoor particle and volatile organic compound emissions with potential deleterious effects on human health. Nevertheless, cooking emissions remain poorly characterized. Here the effect of herbs and pepper on cooking emissions was investigated for the first time to the best of our knowledge using state of the art mass spectrometric analysis of particle and gas-phase composition. Further, the secondary organic aerosol production potential of the gas-phase emissions was determined by smog chamber aging experiments. The emissions of frying meat with herbs and pepper include large amounts of mono-, sesqui- and diterpenes as well as various terpenoids and p-cymene. The average total terpene emission rate from the use of herbs and pepper during cooking is estimated to be 46 ± 5 gg-1Herbs min-1. These compounds are highly reactive in the atmosphere and lead to significant amounts of secondary organic aerosol upon aging. In summary we demonstrate that cooking with condiments can constitute an important yet overlooked source of terpenes in indoor air.

Spatial Distribution of Carbonaceous Aerosol in the Southeastern Baltic Sea Region (Event of Grass Fires)

The aerosol chemical composition in air masses affected by large vegetation fires transported from the Kaliningrad region (Russia) and southeast regions (Belarus and Ukraine) during early spring (March 2014) was characterized at the remote background site of Preila, Lithuania. In this study, the chemical composition of the particulate matter was studied by high temporal resolution instruments, including an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and a seven-wavelength aethalo-meter. Air masses were transported from twenty to several hundred kilometres, arriving at the measurement station after approximately half a day of transport. The concentration-weighted trajectory analysis suggests that organic aerosol particles are mainly transported over the Baltic Sea and the continent (southeast of Belarus). Results show that a significant fraction of the vegetation burning organic aerosol is transformed into oxidised forms in less than a half-day. Biomass burning aerosol (BBOA) was quantified from the ACSM data using a positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis, while its spatial distribution was evaluated using air mass clustering approach.