Abatement of Emissions of a Residential Wood Stove: Effect of the Catalyst on Gaseous and Condensable Pollutants Concentration and Their Toxicity

The use of biomass combustion for residential heating purposes is crucial for reaching the European Union’s 2050 climate-neutrality goals. It, however, raises environmental and health concerns. This study explores the impact of a patented catalyst on wood stove emissions and, notably, its influence on cytotoxicity by comparing flue gas composition with and without the catalyst. Organic gaseous compounds (OGC) generated by wood combustion comprise two subgroups: water-soluble condensable organic compounds (WSCOC) and high-saturating vapor organic compounds (HSVOC). The second is mainly composed of methane, a molecule challenging to oxidize into CO₂ at these operating temperatures. While the catalyst moderately eliminates OGC (19%) in general, it excels in removing CO (87%) and WSCOC (80%), particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (91%). Bioassays on the A549 human cell line show that the catalytic WSCOC removal is correlated with a significant decrease in cytotoxicity (50%). Additionally, particle number size distribution measurements suggest that the catalyst facilitates the deposition of particles larger than 10 μm, leading to a 66% reduction in the particulate mass concentration. These results underscore the catalyst’s role in mitigating harmful gaseous emissions and reducing the health risks associated with wood stove use, particularly by targeting toxic WSCOC.