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The Formation of PAH Compounds from the Combustion of Biofuels

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Advances in Energy and Combustion

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are byproducts resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon-based fuels such as fuel oils, coal and biofuels. PAH are implicated in the formation of soot, another undesirable byproduct formed during combustion. Such compounds are harmful to human health, and soot plays an important role in climate change. Black carbon is known to absorb visible solar radiation, and the associated organic carbon fraction, including PAH, that is co-emitted can absorb radiation at shorter wavelengths leading to climate forcing. As a result of climate change considerations and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuels are slowly being replaced by lower carbon renewable biofuels. However, these biofuels are often carbon based, and so, their incomplete combustion produces a similar range of pollutant species to fossil fuels. These substitute fuels can form PAH compounds, although often to a lesser degree due to differences in the fuel chemistry. The EPA 16 list is widely used to determine the extent of pollution due to PAH but does not include other types of polycyclic aromatic compounds such as oxygenated species (O-PAC) or nitrogenated species (N-PAC) so does not reflect many of the priority pollutants.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge helpful discussions with our colleagues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    A. Williams & K. D. Bartle

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    A. R. Lea-Langton

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  1. A. Williams
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  2. A. R. Lea-Langton
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  3. K. D. Bartle
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Correspondence to A. Williams .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Ashwani K. Gupta

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ashoke De

  3. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Suresh K. Aggarwal

  4. Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Abhijit Kushari

  5. Analytic and Computational Research, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Akshai K. Runchal

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Williams, A., Lea-Langton, A.R., Bartle, K.D. (2022). The Formation of PAH Compounds from the Combustion of Biofuels. In: Gupta, A.K., De, A., Aggarwal, S.K., Kushari, A., Runchal, A.K. (eds) Advances in Energy and Combustion. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2648-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2648-7_5

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