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DOE OSTI · 2999941

Impact of grassland fire dynamics on particulate emission factors

Josephson, Alexander Jon [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000170795302)·Aurell, Johanna [US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)]·Cohen, Susan A. [Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)]·Walton, Troy [Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)]·Linn, Rodman R. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000257464880)·Gullett, Brian K. [US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)]
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Abstract

Understanding particulate emission factors in grassland fires is critical for improving air quality assessments and refining emissions inventories. This study explores the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of fire processes and their influence on particulate emissions. Traditional emission factor inventories often rely on static values, overlooking the spatially and temporally variable dynamics of fire behavior. Through field experiments conducted at Konza Prairie Biological Station measuring emissions with uncrewed aerial vehicles, and computational modeling using HIGRAD/FIRETEC, this research highlights the dependency of emission production on localized fire dynamics, including ignition patterns, fuel properties, and atmospheric conditions. The results demonstrate a need for fire dynamic considerations to accurately capture emissions variability.

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09 BIOMASS FUELS54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCESEmission factorsFire CFD simulationsSoot formationWildland fire

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Josephson, Alexander Jon [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000170795302), Aurell, Johanna [US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)], Cohen, Susan A. [Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)], Walton, Troy [Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)], Linn, Rodman R. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)] (ORCID:0000000257464880), Gullett, Brian K. [US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)]. 2025-10-09. Impact of grassland fire dynamics on particulate emission factors. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2025.104554

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