Chemical characterization of biomass fuel smoke particles of rural kitchens of South Asia

• Biomass fuel smoke particles from rural kitchens chemically characterized.
• Elements, anions, EC, OC, WSOC quantitatively analysed.
• Ca, K, Fe and Mg were major elements and SO42− major anion found in all BFSPs.
• Strong seasonality of abundance was found only for EC, OC and WSOC.
• OC/EC ratios within 1.89–7.41 and 1.72–6.19 in dry and wet seasons respectively.

Biomass fuel smoke particles (BFSPs) of rural kitchens collected during dry and wet seasons were characterized for elements, anions and carbon. The BFSPs of kitchens using varied biomass fuel types viz. cow dung stick, mixed biomass, cow-dung stick-mixed biomass and sugarcane bagasse were chosen for the study. The BFSPs from cow dung fuel stick showed higher levels of elements, anions and particulate carbon than other BFSPs. Calcium, K, Fe and Mg were the major elements found in all BFSPs, which did not vary much between the seasons. Sulphate was found to be the dominant anion present in all BFSPs followed by Clˉ and PO43−. Seasonal variation was pronounced in the case of abundance of anions and particulate carbon. The ratio OC/EC, often used as source signature of biomass burning, was found to be within 1.89–7.41 and 1.72–6.19 during dry and wet seasons respectively.

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