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Controlled Combustion System

Jay Cheng stands in front of controlled combustion system.
controlled combustion system

Atmospheric aerosols are microscopic particles that can take the form of dust, smoke, smog, or mist. Aerosols formed through combustion processes represent a major source of atmospheric aerosols. 

Developed at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), the controlled combustion system (CCS) helps scientists more accurately characterize the properties of aerosols by creating them through mimicked real-life combustion conditions where aerosols are produced. The CCS helps improve our understanding of aerosol formation and the effects on ecosystems. 

EMSL recently built a biomass feed system that continuously feeds biomass powder into the CCS, furthering our understanding of biomass combustion emissions during specific combustion conditions (e.g., the air-to-fuel ratio and/or combustion temperature) and with different biomass types. The feed system advances fundamental science by addressing knowledge gaps in the properties of biomass emissions (particles and gas) and their evolution in the atmosphere. EMSL users can request to use the feed system to study biomass-burning aerosols. 

EMSL’s CCS can be customized based on the user’s project needs and is led by EMSL staff scientists in the Terrestrial-Atmospheric Processes Integrated Research Platform. After combustion conditions are created in the CCS, aerosols can be analyzed using EMSL’s analytical platforms, including mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ice nucleation environmental SEM, computer-controlled SEM, and transmission electron microscopy. These analytical platforms will provide a comprehensive picture of combustion aerosols. 

Research application 

Supporting the Terrestrial-Atmospheric Processes Integrated Research Platform and Biogeochemical Transformations Integrated Platform, the CCS provides opportunities in combustion aerosols research such as 

  • chemical, physical, and optical properties of combustion aerosols 
  • combustion aerosols and cloud interaction 
  • chemical aging of combustion particles 
  • health effects of combustion aerosols (e.g., wildfire emitted particles) 
  • impacts of combustion aerosols on ecosystems. 

Contributing teams and resources 

EMSL develops and deploys capabilities for the user program by conducting original research independently or in partnership with others and by adapting/advancing science and technologies developed outside EMSL. In some instances, EMSL directly deploys mature capabilities developed by others where there is value for the EMSL user community. The following grants/activities, principal investigators, and teams contributed to the development of this capability: 

Manishkumar B. Shrivastava, Proposal ID 60995, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

Marwa El-Sayed, Proposal ID 60984, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 

Contacts