Parent Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of pollutants mainly produced from the incomplete burning process. Anthropogenic sources such as residential solid fuel combustion, vehicle emission, and industrial coal combustion are the main sources of PAHs in environment while the contributions of natural sources are relatively small. PAHs can undergo long range transport after emission and cause detrimental impacts on human health. In this section, emission factors of PAHs (EF PAHs ) were reported for coal, crop residue and wood burned in residential stoves. The influence of fuel property and burning condition was discussed. In emissions from coal and crop residue burning, we mainly analyzed 16 priority PAHs listed by U.S. EPA, and in the emissions from residential wood combustion, some non-priority PAHs which had relatively high molecular weight and strong carcinogenic toxic potentials were also analyzed.