Particle number measurement
Support programme:
Umwelt Bundesamt (UBA)
Funding code:
3721533040
Partner:
DBFZ, Tropos, DBI
Background and goal
Small combustion plants are responsible for around 20 % of total particulate matter emissions (PM2.5) in Germany. A large proportion of these emissions come from the 11.2 million single-room furnaces and the approximately one million solid fuel boilers. In addition, although to a much lesser extent, oil and gas furnaces contribute to particulate matter pollution, which has a negative impact on people and the environment. In terms of their impact on health, ultrafine particles (UFP) with a diameter of less than 100 nm are particularly relevant, as these can penetrate deeper into the lungs than larger particles and lead to negative health effects. These UFPs are produced in all combustion processes, both primarily, i.e. directly emitted, and secondarily, i.e. formed from gaseous precursors.
To date, the total particle mass has been used to assess dust emissions from combustion plants, whereby the human-toxicological significance of UFPs has not been adequately recorded. In contrast to particles larger than 100 nm, UFP can be meaningfully measured by the number of particles or the particle number distribution. However, there are only a few research results to date for measuring the number of particles or the particle number distribution in the area of combustion plants, which cannot be transferred to the entirety of combustion plants, the associated flue gas cleaning technologies and fuels. In particular, the contribution of currently available primary and secondary emission reduction measures to particle number reduction and the particle concentrations as a function of fuel, plant technology and operation are hardly known to date.
Therefore, the effect of primary and secondary emission reduction techniques on particle number reduction depending on fuel and firing technology should be evaluated. In addition, particle number measurements are to be carried out on six combustion plants that do not require a permit and have a nominal heat output of less than 100 kW.
Based on the tasks and objectives, the study is divided into the following work packages (WP):
- Work package 1: Description of the particle number concentrations of different fuels depending on the combustion technology
- Work package 2: Description of the effect of secondary emission reduction measures on the particle number
- Work package 3: Particle number measurement
In work package 3 “Particle number measurement”, physical tests are carried out by DBI and DBFZ:
In this work package, particle number measurements are carried out on six combustion plants that do not require a permit and have a nominal heat output of less than 100 kW:
- 2 x single-room firing systems à measurement by DBI with SMPS from TROPOS
- 2 x boilers for wood fuels à measurement by DBFZ with SMPS from DBFZ
- 1 x boiler for gas à measurement by DBI with SMPS from TROPOS
- 1 x heating boiler for oil à measurement by DBI with SMPS from TROPOS
In the final report, all furnaces used are presented in anonymised form. This primarily concerns plants for which the data available based on the results of work packages 1 and 2 is not yet sufficient. In this context, the bidding consortium consisting of the DBFZ, DBI and Tropos can draw on many years of experience in the field of particle number measurements and testing of biomass, oil and gas firing systems. The particle number distribution is measured using SMPS.
Your contact to us
Deputy head of DVGW-test laboratory energy
Rico Eßbach
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