Particulate matter emission from oil-fired domestic heating appliances

In order to acquire up-to-date data regarding particulate matter emissions of modern oil-fired domestic heating systems, measurements have been accomplished in the exhaust gas of two modern appliances using different fuel qualities. For comparison with solid fuels, additional measurements have been taken using a wood pellet burner. The measurement results in emission factors of less than ETSP ≈ 0.075 mg/MJ for standard heating fuel and E TSP ≈ 0.032 mg/MJ for low-sulfur heating fuel (for comparison: ETSP ≈ 10.7 mg/MJ at the wood pellet boiler) at intermittent mode of operation. Other influential parameters than the sulfur content are the type of the boiler, where the condensing boiler displays slightly lower particle emissions than the low-temperature boiler, and the mode of operation, which results in distinctly lower values for steady-state operation. The addition of up to 20% fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) in the fuel does not have a significant influence on the particle emissions. The main fraction of the emitted particles is in the range below 1 μm particle size (PM 1) for all the tested fuels and blends. © 2010 by Begell House, Inc.