Quantifying the Light-Absorption Properties and Molecular Composition of Brown Carbon Aerosol from Sub-Saharan African Biomass Combustion.

ABSTRACT: Sub-Saharan Africa is a hotspot for biomass burning (BB)-derived carbonaceous aerosols, including light-absorbing organic (brown) carbon (BrC). However, the chemically complex nature of BrC in BB aerosols from this region is not fully understood. We generated smoke in a chamber through smoldering combustion of common sub-Saharan African biomass fuels (hardwoods, cow dung, savanna grass, and leaves). We quantified aethalometer-based, real-time light-absorption properties of BrC-containing organic-rich BB aerosols, accounting for variations in wavelength, fuel type, relative humidity, and photochemical aging conditions. In filter samples collected from the chamber and Botswana in the winter, we identified 182 BrC species, classified into lignin pyrolysis products, nitroaromatics, coumarins,

SUBMITTER: Moschos V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10919089 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature