Pollutant Emissions From Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens

Recent studies estimate that a non-negligible percentage of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) collected (sampled) in urban areas can be attributed to emissions deriving from the combustion of solid biomass for uses other than heating [1]. One of the activities that could be responsible for these emissions are pizzerias with wood-burning ovens, which are active all the year and are highly concentrated in Italian large cities. However, measurements of the emission factors of these devices have never been performed in practice. In this study, experimental tests were carried out on a traditional wood-fired oven using two different fuels (beechwood logs and briquettes) in order to determine the pollutant emissions of the device. The sampling system employed (Fig. 1) was constructed by referring to the UNI EN 16510-1:2019 technical standard, and enabled the simultaneous measurement of pollutants and other substances on the hot and cold flue gases. The pollutants measured during the tests were: carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), organic gaseous carbon (OGC), PM, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs). A sampling protocol and appropriate combustion cycles were established in order to simulate, as far as possible, the real-life operating conditions of an oven within a public establishment. The results show that the pollutant emissions of the wood-fired oven fall within the wide range of values observed in literature for other wood-burning appliances, such as stoves and fireplaces [2], indicating these devices as relevant air pollution sources in urban areas.