Waste Burning Exposure Assessment
Project Members
- Annamarie Guth (Student, Environmental Engineering)
- Evan Coffey (Research Assistant, Mechanical Engineering)
- Micheal Hannigan (Professor, Mechanical Engineering)
Detailed Summary
In Accra, Ghana, as well as other parts of the developing world, a common form of waste disposal is open burning. One-third of the airborne particulate matter (PM) emissions in Accra comes from the open burning of trash. PM exposure can lead to various respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and causes 3.4 million deaths globally each year.
The project’s objective aimed to analyze PM and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from the burning of trash mimicking methods used in Accra. PM and CO emissions during the flaming and smoldering of the trash was collected using the Y-Pod sensors. A temperature sensor and scale was used to take temperature measurements throughout each trial and a scale to measure the mass of trash before and after each trial.
Throughout this project, various trials were conducted with different airflows and different trash arrangements to attempt to understand what could be done to reduce PM exposure. Increasing airflow during combustion allows for more efficient combustion, and more efficient combustion can decrease emissions. If the trash can burn rather than smolder for a longer period of time, we hypothesize emissions could be reduced.
A publication is forthcoming for this project.
Project Funding
- CU Boulder Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
