Comparative Study of the Impact of Biomass and Clean Fuels Burning as Cooking Energy on Rural Indoor Air Quality in Heilongjiang, China

In rural areas of the northeast China, the majority of residents use traditional Chinese Kang-stoves for heating and cooking by burning biomass fuels. However, this method is associated with serious indoor air pollution problems. The purpose of this study is to evaluate indoor air quality impacts from biomass combustion and indoor air quality improvements derived from using clean fuel. A comparative study was conducted in three rural households of Heilongjiang to determine indoor air pollution extent during burning biomass (rice straw, cornstalk and corncob) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuels for cooking. The results indicated that the concentration of CO from the combustion of four kinds of fuels was almost below the guidelines prescribed in Chinese In-door Air Quality Standard On the contrary, PM2.5 concentrations exceeded the limiting value regardless of which fuel was used, and the lowest PM2.5 concentration values, which were obtained during burning LPG, were about 2.4-7.5 times of 24-h mean PM2.5 concentration limit. The mean values of formaldehyde concentrations during using four types of cooking energy were totally higher than the standard limit, and the lowest formaldehyde concentrations were detected when corncob was used as cooking energy. Compared with LPG fuel, biomass fuels combustion in traditional Kang-stove with chimney increased the concentrations of TVOC and BTEX. To conclude, the pollutants generated from using LPG are relatively less harmful. Among the three biomass fuels, the minimal pollution derives from the combustion of corncob.