Outdoor charcoal grilling: Particulate and gas-phase emissions, organic speciation and ecotoxicological assessment

Charbroiling is a major source of air pollution worldwide. In this study, the particulate and gas-phase emissions from the charcoal lighting phase and during the grilling of meat (pork and rump cap) and fish (sardine and salmon) on an outdoor barbecue grill were characterized. Some gaseous compounds (ethane, hexane, NO2, N2O, SO2, NH3, HCl) did not display significant variations between samples and the background level, indicating that they are not emitted during barbecuing. During the charcoal heating phase, levels of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) increased 6 times above the background value. Four-to 5-fold increases in TVOC concentrations were observed when grilling sardines and salmon, while rises of 1.3–1.5 were recorded for meat. Emission factors of 32.4 g PM10 kg−1 and 22.7 g TVOCs kg−1 were obtained for the biofuel ignition phase. PM10 emission rates of 472, 531, 1104 and 918 mg kg−1 were estimated for pork, rump cap, sardine and salmon charbroiling, respectively. TVOC emissions ranged from 23.9 mg kg−1 (pork) to 82.6 mg kg−1 (salmon). Organic carbon accounted for 35.0% of the PM10 emitted during the ignition and flaming phases of the biofuel but represented mass fractions of 56–64% of the particulate emissions during food charbroiling. About 235 organic compounds were quantified in the PM10 samples. The ecotoxicity was assessed using the kinetic version of the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition bioassay. All samples were classified as very toxic or toxic. Ecotoxicity was statistically correlated with several n-alkanes, PAHs and alkyl-PAHs, anhydrosugars, acids, and phenolic compounds.