Pollution from cooking emissions hangs in the air

Date:
April 14, 2022
Source:
University of Birmingham
Summary:
Organic aerosols -- such as those released in cooking -- may stay
in the atmosphere for several days, because of nanostructures
formed by fatty acids as they are released into the air.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Organic aerosols -- such as those released in cooking -- may stay in the atmosphere for several days, because of nanostructures formed by fatty
acids as they are released into the air.


==========================================================================
By identifying the processes which control how these aerosols are
transformed in the atmosphere, scientists will be able to better
understand and predict their impact on the environment and the climate.

Experts at the Universities of Birmingham and Bath have used instruments
at the Diamond Light Source and the Central Laser Facility, both based
at the Harwell Campus in Oxford, to probe the behaviour of thin films
of oleic acid -- an unsaturated fatty acid commonly released when cooking.

In the study, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics,they were
able to analyse the particular molecular properties that control how
rapidly aerosol emissions can be broken down in the atmosphere.

Then, using a theoretical model combined with experimental data the team
was able to predict the amount of time aerosols generated from cooking
may hang around in the environment.

These types of aerosols have long been associated with poor air quality
in urban areas, but their impact on human-made climate change is hard
to gauge.

That's because of the diverse range of molecules found within aerosols,
and their varying interactions with the environment.

By identifying the nanostructure of molecules emitted during cooking
that slows down the break-up of organic aerosols, it becomes possible
to model how they are transported and dispersed into the atmosphere.

Lead author Dr Christian Pfrang, of the University of Birmingham's School
of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, said: "Cooking aerosols
account for up to 10 per cent of particulate matter (PM) emissions in
the UK. Finding accurate ways to predict their behaviour will give us
much more precise ways to also assess their contribution to climate
change." Co-author Dr Adam Squires, of the University of Bath, said:
"We're increasingly finding out how molecules like these fatty acids from cooking can organise themselves into bilayers and other regular shapes
and stacks within aerosol droplets that float in the air, and how this completely changes how fast they degrade, how long they persist in the atmosphere, and how they affect pollution and weather." The research
was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the data
was produced and analysed using the University of Birmingham's BlueBEAR
high performance and high throughput computing service. BlueBEAR employs
some of the latest technology to deliver fast and efficient processing
capacity for researchers while minimizing energy consumption by using
direct, on-chip, water cooling.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Birmingham. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Adam Milsom, Adam M. Squires, Andrew D. Ward, Christian Pfrang. The
impact of molecular self-organisation on the atmospheric fate of
a cooking aerosol proxy. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2022;
22 (7): 4895 DOI: 10.5194/acp-22-4895-2022 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220414110801.htm

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