Estimates of wood burning contribution to PM by the macro-tracer method using tailored emission factors

In this work, a methodology based on the macro-tracer approach was improved to obtain a more reliable estimate of the wood burning impact on PM10 and OC concentrations. Indeed, literature emission factors were weighed by the wood consumption data available for the investigated region and these tailored factors were used in the calculation. Moreover, an alternative approach using the chemical profile of the wood burning source obtained by the Positive Matrix Factorization was introduced. As far as we know, this is the first time that PMF-derived emission ratios instead of source emission factors are used in the macro-tracer method. A critical comparison of the results obtained by the two approaches was carried out. The results suggest that PMF-derived emission ratios can be a feasible alternative to the widely used wood smoke emission factors, which show a high variability. The proposed methodology was applied to a trial dataset of wintertime PM10 samples - characterised for anhydrosugars, organic, and elemental carbon - collected in the frame of a regional project. The results gave a preliminary estimate of the wood smoke contribution to PM10 and OC in different sites in Lombardy (Northern Italy). © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.