Rice Straw Smoke Generation System for Controlled Human Inhalation Exposures

Abstract

A unique burner system was designed for the purposes of exposing human subjects to rice straw smoke under highly controlled conditions. The system burns individual straws and has produced particle concentrations up to 900 g m-3 in a temperature and humidity controlled exposure chamber. Burner operation is fully automatic and programmable. Ignition is by radiant heating in a manner similar to the field. Particle concentration is controlled by the firing interval between straws and by the ratio of burner outlet flow mixing with the main purified air supplied to the exposure chamber. Steady-state particle concentrations are achieved within 5 minutes from start. Repeatability of particle concentration is excellent at the two exposure levels used, 200 and 500 g m-3. Measurements of particle size distributions suggest that approximately 80% of mass is in the size fraction below 1 m. Although particle concentrations are controlled at target levels with good precision, emission factors are higher than achieved with similar material in wind tunnel and field experiments. Further characterization of particulate matter is needed to determine if higher emission factors are associated with changes in particle composition and morphology that may influence exposure results.