United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
National Risk Management
Research Laboratory
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA/600/SR-99/048 June 1999
Grilling)
SuhY. Lee
The U.S. EPA, working through the
Clean Air Technology Center (CATC)
and the U.S.-Mexico Border Information
Center on Air Pollution (Centra de
Informacion Sobre Contaminacion de
Aire Par la Frontera entre EE.UU. y
Mexico, or CICA), along with the Mexi-
can Institute National de Ecoligfa (INE),
has jointly initiated a program to estab-
lish a reliable emissions inventory for
street vendor cooking devices (char-
coal grilling), a significant source of air
pollutants in the Mexicali-Imperial Val-
ley area.
This Project Summary was developed
by the National Risk Management Re-
search Laboratory's Air Pollution Pre-
vention and Control Division, Research
Triangle Park, NC, to announce key find-
ings of the research project that is fully
documented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Overview
Emissions from street vendor cooking
devices, prevalent in the streets of
Mexicali, Mexico, were investigated ex-
perimentally by measuring levels of par-
ticulate matter (PM), particle size
distributions, volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds
(SVOCs), aldehydes, and oxides of nitro-
gen and sulfur, emitted when meat is
cooked on a grill over a charcoal fire. The
test grill was carefully chosen to simulate
street vendor cooking devices in Mexicali.
Nine test runs were planned for the pro-
gram. In order to investigate the emission
rate, both beef and chicken were tested.
Furthermore, both meats were marinated
with a mixture similar to that used by
street vendors. Initially, it was planned to
use only charcoal from Mexicali; how-
ever, difficulties in obtaining sufficient
quantities necessitated using local char-
coal for some of the tests. Both types of
charcoal were compared to ensure simi-
lar physical and chemical properties.
Some of the tests conducted were with
non-marinated beef for comparison. Two
blank runs were performed sampling char-
coal fires without meat. Finally, a simple
control device, normally used in an ex-
haust fan to trap grease over a kitchen
stove, was evaluated for its effectiveness
in reducing emissions. A summary of the
test condition is shown in Table 1.
Each test run averaged approximately
3 hours of charcoal burning, of which
meat-cooking lasted 1 to 2 hours. For
each test run, approximately 5-6 kg of
meat was cooked, and an average of 6
kg of charcoal was burned. Total PM and
SVOCs were sampled using the EPA
MM5G Method. PM with aerodynamic di-
ameters equal to and below 10 pm (PM10)
and 2.5 pm (PM25) were evaluated using
an Andersen Mark III inertia! cascade im-
pactor. VOCs were sampled using
SUMMA canisters. VOC and SVOC
samples were analyzed by a GC-Mass
spectrometer. Aldehydes were sampled
using DNPH cartridges and analyzed by
High Performance Liquid Chromatogra-
phy (HPLC) as described in EPA Method
1P-6A. Carbon monoxide (CO), oxygen
(O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitric oxide
(NO), total hydrocarbons (THCs), and
sulfur dioxide (SO2) were measured with
continuous emission monitors (CEMs).
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All of the emission parameters mea-
sured during the test runs are shown in
Table 1. The summary of test conditions
appears to be reasonable, except for the
SO2 measurements. Wide fluctuations of
the SO2 CEM readings for all the test runs
suggest a malfunction of the SO2 instru-
ment or that the measuring range of the
instrument was too high for the low level
of SO2 present. Emission results of the
test runs are summarized in Tables 2 to
4. The results are tabulated as emissions
based on total cooking time (Table 2),
emissions per unit weight of meat and
charcoal used (Table 3), and emissions
per unit weight of meat cooked (Table 4).
Conclusions
Based on an analysis of the test re-
sults, the following can be concluded
about emissions from street vendor cook-
ing devices:
• Emissions of total PM, total VOCs,
and total SVOCs from street vendor
cooking are basically the result of
cooking meat; i.e., charcoal does not
contribute to the emissions.
• Marinated meat yields increased to-
tal VOCs and total PM emissions
compared to non-marinated meat.
• There are no significant differences
in emission rates between chicken
and beef.
• Emissions of CO and NO derive from
the charcoal fire rather than the cook-
ing meat.
• Emission of THC is almost entirely
due to the initial burning of HCs
present in the charcoal. THC emis-
sion was confined only during the
first half hour of charcoal light off.
• Based on very limited observations,
the simple screen placed in the stack
(emission control device) appeared
to be very effective in reducing emis-
sions of PM, VOCs, SVOCs, and
THCs from the street vendor cooking
devices; however, since only one test
was performed to evaluate this de-
vice, the results cannot be consid-
ered conclusive.
• Particle size distribution of all the test
runs was very similar. Most particles
had an aerodynamic diameter of less
than 2.5 pm (PM25). Only 20 wt% of
the particles had aerodynamic diam-
eters between 10 and 2.5 pm.
Table 1. Summary of Test Conditions
Test Number
MC1
MC2
MC3
MC4
MC5
MC6
MC7
MC8
MC9
Type of Meat
Beef
Chicken
Beef
None
None
Beef
Chicken
Beef
Beef
Marinade
Yes
Yes
No
None
None
Yes
Yes
No
No
Emission Control
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Table 2. Total Emission Rates, g/hr
Test
Number
MC1
MC2
MC3
MC4
MC5
MC6
MC7
MC8
MC9
Test Condition
Beef- Marinade
Chicken - Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
Charcoal Only
Charcoal Only
Beef- Marinade
Chicken - Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
- control screen
NO
5.21
16.46
8.46
13.15
16.34
14.16
6.62
5.17
6.26
THC
20.38
20.17
13.20
1.43
4.53
6.89
3.53
14.47
1.19
PM
18.06
22.65
19.53
1.27
2.81
32.49
34.94
30.41
23.70
CO
385.6
376.3
462.9
435.7
494.3
484.3
556.7
518.1
574.5
Aldehydes
2.579
2.160
1.976
0.360
0.346
3.177
3.281
2.819
1.776
VOCs
2.334
2.383
2.169
0.253
0.485
2.941
3.607
2.598
1.157
SVOCs
0.0056
0.0259
0.0152
ND*
ND
0.006
0.0087
0.003
ND
*ND - none detected
Table 3. Total Emissions per Unit Weight of Meat plus Charcoal, g/kg of meat plus charcoal
Test
Number
MC1
MC2
MC3
MC4
MC5
MC6
MC7
MC8
MC9
Test Condition
Beef- Marinade
Chicken -
Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
Charcoal Only
Charcoal Only
Beef- Marinade
Chicken -
Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
-control screen
NO
2.55
7.85
3.33
5.98
10.30
4.35
1.90
1.35
1.51
THC
9.98
9.62
5.19
0.65
2.85
2.11
1.02
3.77
0.29
PM
8.85
10.80
7.68
0.58
1.77
9.97
10.05
7.91
5.71
CO
188.9
179.4
182.1
198.1
311.5
148.7
160.2
134.8
138.5
Aldehydes
1.263
1.030
0.777
0.163
0.218
0.975
0.944
0.734
0.428
VOCs
1.105
1.089
0.826
0.115
0.300
0.866
0.998
0.653
0.268
SVOCs
0.002
0.0116
0.0053
ND*
ND
0.0018
0.0022
0.0008
ND
*ND - none detected
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Table 4. Total Emission per Unit of Meat, g/kg of meat cooked
Test
Number
MC1
MC2
MC3
MC4
MC5
MC6
MC7
MC8
MC9
Test Condition
Beef- Marinade
Chicken - Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
Charcoal Only
Charcoal Only
Beef- Marinade
Chicken - Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
Beef- No Marinade
- control screen
NO
2.36
6.37
3.32
NA*
NA
4.70
2.02
1.45
1.76
THC
9.21
7.80
5.19
NA
NA
2.29
1.08
4.06
0.33
PM
8.16
8.76
7.67
NA
NA
10.79
10.68
8.52
6.64
CO
174.3
145.5
181.8
NA
NA
160.8
170.2
145.2
161.1
Aldehydes
1.165
0.835
0.776
NA
NA
1.055
1.003
0.790
0.498
VOCs
1.055
0.921
0.852
NA
NA
0.977
1.102
0.728
0.325
SVOCs
0.0025
0.0100
0.0060
NA
NA
0.0020
0.0027
0.0008
0
*NA - not applicable
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S. Lee is with ARCADIS Geraghty & Miller, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.
Paul M. Lemieux is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Emissions from Street Vendor Cooking Devices
(Charcoal Grilling)," (Order No. PB99-146995; Cost: $33.00, subject to
change) will be available only from
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: (703) 605-6000
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at
Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
CenterforEnvironmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
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EPA/600/SR-99/048
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