Black Carbon Emissions and Their Relation to Emission Characteristics from Traditional Cookstoves in Rural India

The burning of solid biomass fuel in traditional cooking stoves is still a major source of air pollution in India’s rural areas. Thereby estimates of source emissions becomes extremely important considering its effect on health and environment. The present study aims to measure and characterize aerosol emissions from the use of various single and mix-solid biomass fuels (fuelwood, dung cake, crop-residue) for cooking in traditional cookstoves. A portable versatile source sampling system (VS3) having PM_2.5 samplers along with aethalometer (AE33) were taken on-field in Bihar and Haryana to capture real time emission measurement during cooking activity. A total of 84 experiments were conducted during both morning and evening cooking and the data was analysed to understand the impact of various fuel types, cooking processes and emission characteristics on black carbon (BC) @880nm. The burn rates in case of single fuel use like fuelwood, dung cake, and crop residue were found 1.6 ± 0.8, 1.56 ± 0.5, and 1.83 ± 0.9 kgh^-1 respectively, however, in case of mix-fuel usage like firewood with dung cake and crop-residue was 2.4 ± 1.3 kgh^-1. The relationship between combustion temperature and BC was investigated using the Pearson correlation test. The results revealed a weak (R² = 0.124) but significant association, suggesting that while combustion temperature influences BC levels, other factors also play important roles. ANOVA tests were conducted to ascertain the statistical significance of the variations in BC emissions across different fuel types and cooking techniques. The tests revealed that both fuel types and cooking processes significantly affect BC concentrations (P-value~0). To delve deeper, regression analyses were performed, revealing that these factors account for approximately 10.3% of the variability in BC. The models highlighted the influence of specific fuel types and cooking processes, underscoring the complexity of factors impacting BC emissions. This multifaceted approach not only enhances our understanding of how cooking and combustion practices influence BC emissions but also underscores the importance of considering a variety of factors when developing strategies to reduce air pollution and improve environmental health. Understanding BC emissions can guide policies to improve energy access and reduce socioeconomic disparities. The paper will focus on looking other combustion parameters like atmospheric temperature and relative humidity and the impact of single and mix-fuel use on the BC emissions.