Greenhouse gas emissions from laboratory-scale fires in wildland fuels depend on fire spread mode and phase of combustion

Surawski, NC; Sullivan, AL; Meyer, CP; Roxburgh, SH; Polglase, PJ

Greenhouse gas emissions from laboratory-scale fires in wildland fuels depend on fire spread mode and phase of combustion

Surawski, NC

Sullivan, AL Meyer, CP Roxburgh, SH Polglase, PJ

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2015, 15 (9), pp. 5259 - 5273
Issue Date:: 2015-05-13

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Surawski, NC https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2584-1044	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sullivan, AL	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Meyer, CP	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Roxburgh, SH	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Polglase, PJ	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-05-13	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2015, 15 (9), pp. 5259 - 5273	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1680-7316	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/119212
dc.description.abstract	© Author(s) 2015. Free-burning experimental fires were conducted in a wind tunnel to explore the role of ignition type and thus fire spread mode on the resulting emissions profile from combustion of fine (< 6 mm in diameter) Eucalyptus litter fuels. Fires were burnt spreading with the wind (heading fire), perpendicular to the wind (flanking fire) and against the wind (backing fire). Greenhouse gas compounds (i.e. CO<inf>2</inf>, CH<inf>4</inf> and N<inf>2</inf>O) and CO were quantified using off-axis integrated-cavity-output spectroscopy. Emissions factors calculated using a carbon mass balance technique (along with statistical testing) showed that most of the carbon was emitted as CO<inf>2</inf>, with heading fires emitting 17% more CO<inf>2</inf> than flanking and 9.5% more CO<inf>2</inf> than backing fires, and about twice as much CO as flanking and backing fires. Heading fires had less than half as much carbon remaining in combustion residues. Statistically significant differences in CH<inf>4</inf> and N<inf>2</inf>O emissions factors were not found with respect to fire spread mode. Emissions factors calculated per unit of dry fuel consumed showed that combustion phase (i.e. flaming or smouldering) had a statistically significant impact, with CO and N<inf>2</inf>O emissions increasing during smouldering combustion and CO<inf>2</inf> emissions decreasing. Findings on the equivalence of different emissions factor reporting methods are discussed along with the impact of our results for emissions accounting and potential sampling biases associated with our work. The primary implication of this study is that prescribed fire practices could be modified to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from forests by judicial use of ignition methods to induce flanking and backing fires over heading fires.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.5194/acp-15-5259-2015	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences	en_US
dc.title	Greenhouse gas emissions from laboratory-scale fires in wildland fuels depend on fire spread mode and phase of combustion	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	9	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	15	en_US
utslib.for	0306 Physical Chemistry (incl. Structural)	en_US
utslib.for	0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	0401 Atmospheric Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CTWW - Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater Treatment
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	9	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	15	en_US

Abstract:

© Author(s) 2015. Free-burning experimental fires were conducted in a wind tunnel to explore the role of ignition type and thus fire spread mode on the resulting emissions profile from combustion of fine (< 6 mm in diameter) Eucalyptus litter fuels. Fires were burnt spreading with the wind (heading fire), perpendicular to the wind (flanking fire) and against the wind (backing fire). Greenhouse gas compounds (i.e. CO2, CH4 and N2O) and CO were quantified using off-axis integrated-cavity-output spectroscopy. Emissions factors calculated using a carbon mass balance technique (along with statistical testing) showed that most of the carbon was emitted as CO2, with heading fires emitting 17% more CO2 than flanking and 9.5% more CO2 than backing fires, and about twice as much CO as flanking and backing fires. Heading fires had less than half as much carbon remaining in combustion residues. Statistically significant differences in CH4 and N2O emissions factors were not found with respect to fire spread mode. Emissions factors calculated per unit of dry fuel consumed showed that combustion phase (i.e. flaming or smouldering) had a statistically significant impact, with CO and N2O emissions increasing during smouldering combustion and CO2 emissions decreasing. Findings on the equivalence of different emissions factor reporting methods are discussed along with the impact of our results for emissions accounting and potential sampling biases associated with our work. The primary implication of this study is that prescribed fire practices could be modified to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from forests by judicial use of ignition methods to induce flanking and backing fires over heading fires.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/119212