Chemical and toxicological characterization of residential oil burner emissions. I. Yields and chemical characterization of extractables from combustion of No. 2 fuel oil at different Bacharach smoke numbers and firing cycles

Journal Article · Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987 · Environ. Health Perspect.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.8773223· OSTI ID:6218330

Leary, J A; Biemann, K; Lafleur, A L; Kruzel, E L; Prado, G P; Longwell, J P; Peters, W A

Particulates and complex organic mixtures were sampled from the exhaust of a flame retention head residential oil burner combusting No.2 fuel oil at three firing conditions: continuous at Bacharach Smoke No.1, and cyclic (5 min on, 10 min off) at Smoke Nos. 1 and 5. The complex mixtures were recovered by successive Soxhlet extraction of filtered particulates and XAD-2 sorbent resin with methylene chloride (DCM) and then methanol (MeOH). Bacterial mutagenicity was found in the DCM extractables. Samples of DCM extracts from the two cyclic firing conditions and of the raw fuel were separated by gravity column chromatography on alumina. The resulting fractions were further characterized by a range of instrumental methods. Average yields of both unextracted particulates and of DCM extractables, normalized to a basis of per unit weight of fuel fired, were lower for continuous firing than for cyclic firing. For cyclic firing, decreasing the smoke number lowered the particulates emissions but only slightly reduced the average yield of DCM extractables. These and similar observations, here reported for two other oil burners, show that adjusting the burner to a lower smoke number has little effect on, or may actually increase, emissions of organic extractables of potential public health interest. Unburned fuel accounted for roughly half of the DCM extractables from cyclic firing of the flame retention head burner at high and low smoke number. Thus, oil burner effluents differ markedly from those of several other combustors. Implications for combustion and emissions source identification are discussed.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
• OSTI ID: 6218330
• Journal Information: Environ. Health Perspect.; (United States), Journal Name: Environ. Health Perspect.; (United States) Vol. 73; ISSN EVHPA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020600* -- Petroleum-- Health & Safety
025000 -- Petroleum-- Combustion
AEROSOLS
BURNERS
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
COLLOIDS
COMBUSTION
DISPERSIONS
EXHAUST GASES
FLUIDS
FRACTIONATION
FUEL OILS
FUELS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
LIQUID COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY
LIQUID FUELS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
OIL BURNERS
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
RESIDUES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SMOKES
SOLS
SPECTROSCOPY
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTES