Speciated Hydrocarbon Emissions from the Combustion of Single Component Fuels. I. Effect of Fuel Structure

Speciated hydrocarbon emissions data have been collected for six single-component fuels run in a laboratory pulse flame combustor (PFC). The six fuels include n-heptane, isooctane (2, 2, 4-trimethylpentane), cyclohexane, 1-hexene, toluene, and methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE: an oxygenated fuel extender). Combustion of non-aromatic fuels in the PFC (at a fuel/air equivalence ratio of Φ = 1.02) produced low levels of unburned fuel and high yields of methane and olefins (> 75 percent combined) irrespective of the molecular structure of the fuel. In contrast, hydrocarbon emissions from toluene combustion in the PFC were comprised predominantly of unburned fuel (72 percent). With the PFC, low levels of 1, 3-butadiene (0.3-1.8 percent) were observed from all the fuels except MTBE, for which no measurable level (<0.2 percent) was detected; low levels of benzene were observed from isooctane, heptane, and 1-hexene, but significant levels (9 percent) from cyclohexane and toluene. No measurable amount of benzene (< 0.2 percent) was observed in the MTBE exhaust.

For isooctane and toluene the speciated hydrocarbon emissions from a spark-ignited (SI) single-cylinder engine were also determined. HC emissions from the SI engine contained the same species as observed from the PFC, although the relative composition was different. For the non-aromatic fuel isooctane, unburned fuel represented a larger fraction (50 percent) of the HC emissions when run in the engine. HC emissions from toluene combustion in the engine were similar to those from the PFC.     

Distribution Pattern of Benthic Invertebrate Communities in Traunsee (Austria) in Relation to Industrial Tailings and Trophy

Traunsee, an oligotrophic Alpine lake, has suffered from inputsof industrial tailings (soda- and salt-mining industries) forseveral decades. The effects of the industrial sludges on thespatial distribution of the littoral and profundal invertebratefauna was investigated along three transects at five dates. Inthe littoral zone, no negative impacts were found. A distinctgradient in faunal composition and diversity was, however,observed along a profundal transect relative to the distance fromthe waste emission. Near the industrial input, the enhanced pH,the substrate instability, and the poor sediment quality forsubstrate- and deposit-feeders were the main factors that loweror prohibit colonization of the industrial sludges. Along atransitional zone between the waste emission and the deepestbasin, recolonization was delayed, but did occur as soon aslayers of a few mm natural sediment seal the sludge. Mobile,epibenthic organisms are the first to settle these areas, whereasrecolonization by tube-building oligochaetes and chironomidsrequires thicker sealings of the industrial sludges. Differencesin the abundance of benthic invertebrates at different profundalsites were not only related to the waste emission, but also tothe influence of the main tributary, the River Traun. Theenhanced availability of allochthonous organic matter wasprobably responsible for high densities of tubificids near theinlet in the South of Traunsee. Moreover, a higher proportion oftolerant oligochaete and ostracod species in the lower profundaloutside the influence of the industrial tailings was interpretedas reflecting the increased trophy of Traunsee in the 1970s,which forced sensitive species to shift to the upper profundalwhen the oxygen climate deteriorated.     

Speciated Hydrocarbon Emissions from the Combustion of Single Component Fuels. II. Catalyst Effects

Six single-component fuels (isooctane, n-heptane, 1-hexene, cyclohexane, methyl-t-butyl ether (MTBE), and toluene) and a multicomponent tracer fuel were burned in a pulse flame combustor (PFC) and reacted over a three-way automotive catalyst. The composition of the raw, uncatalyzed PFC exhaust was characterized in Part I of this study. In Part II, we focus on the conversions of the individual exhaust HC species over the catalyst. In accord with previous studies, the order of reactivity observed for the various classes of HC species was: methane (least reactive) < saturated HC < aromatics < unsaturated HC (most reactive). These differences in catalytic reactivity led to increases in the relative concentrations of methane and some saturated hydrocarbons in the post catalyst exhaust, and corresponding decreases in the relative concentrations of aromatic and unsaturated hydrocarbons. Oxygenated organic compounds showed wide variability in catalytic reactivity depending on the specific compounds involved. Catalytic conversion of the air toxic, 1,3-butadiene, was essentially complete to within detection limits. Benzene and toluene appeared to have similar intrinsic catalytic reactivities. However, net conversion of benzene in most instances was significantly less than that of toluene owing to demethylation of toluene (to form benzene) occurring in parallel with benzene oxidation. Rich combustion of both isooctane and tracer fuel led to the production of methane by the catalyst, primarily from reactions of acetylene and small olefins.