Special Environmental Engineering Seminar,  Tuesday 5 December

Center for the Study of Air Quality and Climate Change, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, Greece

“Insights in Biomass Burning Atmospheric Pollution”

Biomass Burning (BB) emissions are a major contributor to atmospheric pollution worldwide affecting human health, visibility and climate. Assessing and quantifying the levels of Particulate Matter (PM) and gas phase species such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that are emitted by BB processes, can be challenging due to significant chemical aging over time of the compounds released to the atmosphere and their interactions with the typical atmospheric oxidants. The characteristics and fate of these emissions, related to: 1) BB residential heating during the winter in Urban environments, 2) Agricultural waste BB during the winter periods and 3) forest wild fires during the summer periods, are examined showing that the oxidation products pose a significant source of fine PM and are related to increased adverse health effects in terms of Oxidative Potential (OP), something that is widely overlooked.