Emission of Speciated Mercury from Residential Biomass Fuel Combustion in China

Abstract

Among various sources, mercury emissions from biomass fuel combustion have received growing attention. Mercury emission from biomass fuels can be estimated on the basis of the combustion amount and the emission factors (EFs). Although mercury emissions from biomass fuel combustion occur mostly in developing countries, most EFs have been measured in developed countries, leading to bias in mercury emission inventories. In this study, mercury EFs for 25 species of fuelwood, eight species of crop residues, and two types of biomass pellets were determined according to the real-life practice of residential burning. Results showed that the EFs ranges were 0.65–28.44 ng g–1 for fuelwood, 3.02–12.05 ng g–1 for crop residues, and 5.22–8.10 ng g–1 for biomass pellets. Hg0 is the dominant form of mercury emitted from biomass fuel combustion. The proportion of Hg0, Hg2+, and Hgp was 76 ± 17, 6 ± 5, and 18 ± 14% for fuelwood; 73 ± 11, 4 ± 5, and 23 ± 13% for crop residues; and 97 ± 1, 1 ± 0.2, and 2 ± 0.7% for biomass pellets, respectively. Biomass pellets can reduce mercury emissions compared with the uncompressed raw materials. On the basis of the measured EFs, inventories of mercury emission from biomass fuel combustion in rural China from 2000–2007 were estimated. The annual mercury emission ranged from 1.94 to 5.07 Mg, of which crop residues and fuelwood accounted for 62 and 38%, respectively.