Revisiting Acetonitrile as Tracer of Biomass Burning in Anthropogenic‐Influenced Environments

Abstract

On a global scale, biomass burning has been recognized as the primary source of fine carbonaceous particles and the second-largest source for total trace gases (Akagi et al., 2011;Stockwell et al., 2015;Yokelson et al., 2013). Pollutants emitted during the burning process can contribute significantly to local and regional air pollution (Chen et al., 2017;Crilley et al., 2015;Languille et al., 2020). The reactive species emitted participate in the reactions in the atmosphere producing secondary pollutants, such as secondary organic aerosols and ozone (O 3 ), which can amplify the impact of primary pollutants (Alvarado et al., 2015;Gilman et al., 2015;Yokelson et al., 2013). Recognizing and quantifying the amount of biomass burning emissions can help to understand the local source attribution and greatly enhance the accuracy of air quality forecasting in the downwind areas (

Characteristics of VOC Composition at Urban and Suburban Sites of New Delhi, India in Winter

“…The mixing ratios of VOCs and CO show strong correlations with furfural during the Holi (Figure S6c in Supporting Information ). As shown in Figure S6c in Supporting Information , the emission ratio ∆acetonitrile/∆CO (∼1.8 ppb ppm −1 ) is well within the range of values reported for the open biomass burning sources (Bruns et al., 2016; Huangfu et al., 2021).…”

“…Huangfu et al. (2021) have reported higher acetonitrile/CO ratios (1.1–7.98 ppb ppm −1 ) for outdoor biomass burning sources such as wildfire and crop residue burning. In the present study, a strong acetonitrile‐CO correlation ( r 2 = 0.90) and a higher ER of ∆acetonitrile/∆CO (∼8 ppb ppm −1 ) confirm the impact of biomass burning (Figure S5b in Supporting Information ).…”

Traffic, transport, and vegetation drive VOC concentrations in a major urban area in Texas

“…Large areas of vegetation along with subtropical climatic conditions in San Antonio make biogenic sources an important contributor to VOC emissions in this region (Anderson et al, 2019). Biomass burning can also be a significant urban source of VOCs, and acetonitrile is often present in such plumes (Huangfu et al, 2021) . In addition to being emitted from primary sources, oxidized VOCs (OVOCs) such as acetone, acetaldehyde, methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), methacrolein (MACR), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and hydroxyacetone can be produced in the atmosphere and be present in aged airmass (Kudo et al, 2014;Lewis et al, 2005).…”

The Gas and Aerosol Phase Composition of Smoke Plumes From The 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires and Potential Implications For Human Health

“…This may suggest a higher emission factor of this species from the Black Summer fires, or the formation of acetonitrile in the plume during transport to the measurement site. Higher enhancement ratios of acetonitrile have been observed outside the Australian context, with a review of field measurements reporting a mean value of 2.0e-03, twice as large as the COALA value (Huangfu et al, 2021).…”