RAHUL ARYA
@nplindia.org
PhD Schoalr
CSIR National Physical Laboratory
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Atmospheric Science, Environmental Science, Environmental Chemistry, General Environmental Science
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Rahul Arya, Sakshi Ahlawat, Lokesh Yadav, Martina Rani, Arnab Mondal, Ritu Jangirh, Garima Kotnala, Nikki Choudhary, Akansha Rai, Ummed Singh Saharan,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Taveen S. Kapoor, Chimurkar Navinya, Gupta Anurag, Pradnya Lokhande, Shubham Rathi, Anubha Goel, Renuka Sharma, Rahul Arya, Tuhin K. Mandal, K.P. Jithin,et al.
Elsevier BV
Chimurkar Navinya, Taveen S Kapoor, Gupta Anurag, Pradnya Lokhande, Renuka Sharma, Laxmi Prasad SV, Shiva Nagendra SM, Jyoti Kumari, Gazala Habib, Rahul Arya,et al.
IOP Publishing
Abstract Understanding the climate impact of residential emissions starts with determining the fuel consumption of various household activities. While cooking emissions have been widely studied, non-cooking energy-consumption activities in the residential sector such as heating and lighting, have been overlooked owing to the unavailability of data at national levels. The present study uses data from the Carbonaceous Aerosol Emissions, Source Apportionment and Climate Impacts (COALESCE) project, which consists of residential surveys over 6000 households across 49 districts of India, to understand the energy consumed by non-cooking residential activities. Regression models are developed to estimate information in non-surveyed districts using demographic, housing, and meteorological data as predictors. Energy demand is further quantified and distributed nationally at a 4 × 4 km resolution. Results show that the annual energy consumption from non-cooking activities is 1106 [201] PJ, which is equal to one-fourth of the cooking energy demand. Freely available biomass is widely used to heat water on traditional stoves, even in the warmer regions of western and southern India across all seasons. Space heating (51%) and water heating (42%) dominate non-cooking energy consumption. In comparison, nighttime heating for security personnel (5%), partly-residential personal heating by guards, dominant in urban centers and kerosene lighting (2%) utilize minimal energy. Biomass fuels account for over 90% of the non-cooking consumption, while charcoal and kerosene make up the rest. Half of the energy consumption occurs during winter months (DJF), while 10% of the consumption occurs during monsoon, when kerosene lighting is the highest. Firewood is the most heavily used fuel source in western India, charcoal in the northern hilly regions, agricultural residues and dung cake in the Indo-Gangetic plains, and kerosene in eastern India. The study shows that ∼20% of residential energy consumption is on account of biomass-based heating and kerosene lighting activities.
Ritu Jangirh, Sakshi Ahlawat, Rahul Arya, Arnab Mondal, Lokesh Yadav, Garima Kotnala, Pooja Yadav, Nikki Choudhary, Martina Rani, Rubiya Banoo,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Arnab Mondal, Ummed Singh Saharan, Rahul Arya, Lokesh Yadav, Sakshi Ahlawat, Ritu Jangirh, Garima Kotnala, Nikki Choudhary, Rubiya Banoo, Akansha Rai,et al.
Elsevier BV
Gareth J. Stewart, W. Joe F. Acton, Beth S. Nelson, Adam R. Vaughan, James R. Hopkins, Rahul Arya, Arnab Mondal, Ritu Jangirh, Sakshi Ahlawat, Lokesh Yadav,et al.
Copernicus GmbH
Abstract. Twenty-nine different fuel types used in residential dwellings in northern India were collected from across Delhi (76 samples in total). Emission factors of a wide range of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) (192 compounds in total) were measured during controlled burning experiments using dual-channel gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (DC-GC-FID), two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC-FID), proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) and solid-phase extraction two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPE-GC × GC–ToF-MS). On average, 94 % speciation of total measured NMVOC emissions was achieved across all fuel types. The largest contributors to emissions from most fuel types were small non-aromatic oxygenated species, phenolics and furanics. The emission factors (in g kg−1) for total gas-phase NMVOCs were fuelwood (18.7, 4.3–96.7), cow dung cake (62.0, 35.3–83.0), crop residue (37.9, 8.9–73.8), charcoal (5.4, 2.4–7.9), sawdust (72.4, 28.6–115.5), municipal solid waste (87.3, 56.6–119.1) and liquefied petroleum gas (5.7, 1.9–9.8). The emission factors measured in this study allow for better characterisation, evaluation and understanding of the air quality impacts of residential solid-fuel combustion in India.
Gareth J. Stewart, Beth S. Nelson, W. Joe F. Acton, Adam R. Vaughan, Naomi J. Farren, James R. Hopkins, Martyn W. Ward, Stefan J. Swift, Rahul Arya, Arnab Mondal,et al.
Copernicus GmbH
Abstract. Biomass burning emits significant quantities of intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds (I/SVOCs) in a complex mixture, probably containing many thousands of chemical species. These components are significantly more toxic and have poorly understood chemistry compared to volatile organic compounds routinely quantified in ambient air; however, analysis of I/SVOCs presents a difficult analytical challenge. The gases and particles emitted during the test combustion of a range of domestic solid fuels collected from across Delhi were sampled and analysed. Organic aerosol was collected onto Teflon (PTFE) filters, and residual low-volatility gases were adsorbed to the surface of solid-phase extraction (SPE) discs. A new method relying on accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) coupled to comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC–ToF-MS) was developed. This highly sensitive and powerful analytical technique enabled over 3000 peaks from I/SVOC species with unique mass spectra to be detected. A total of 15 %–100 % of gas-phase emissions and 7 %–100 % of particle-phase emissions were characterised. The method was analysed for suitability to make quantitative measurements of I/SVOCs using SPE discs. Analysis of SPE discs indicated phenolic and furanic compounds were important for gas-phase I/SVOC emissions and levoglucosan to the aerosol phase. Gas- and particle-phase emission factors for 21 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were derived, including 16 compounds listed by the US EPA as priority pollutants. Gas-phase emissions were dominated by smaller PAHs. The new emission factors were measured (mg kg−1) for PAHs from combustion of cow dung cake (615), municipal solid waste (1022), crop residue (747), sawdust (1236), fuelwood (247), charcoal (151) and liquefied petroleum gas (56). The results of this study indicate that cow dung cake and municipal solid waste burning are likely to be significant PAH sources, and further study is required to quantify their impact alongside emissions from fuelwood burning.
H. Pawar, S. Garg, V. Kumar, H. Sachan, R. Arya, C. Sarkar, B. P. Chandra, and B. Sinha
Copernicus GmbH
Abstract. Many sites in the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) frequently exceed the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) of 100 μg m−3 for 24 h average PM10 and 60 μg m−3 for 24 h average PM2.5 mass loadings, exposing residents to hazardous levels of particulate matter (PM) throughout the year. We quantify the contribution of long-range transport to elevated PM levels and the number of exceedance events through a back-trajectory climatology analysis of air masses arriving at the IISER Mohali Atmospheric Chemistry facility (30.667° N, 76.729° E; 310 m a.m.s.l.) for the period August 2011–June 2013. Air masses arriving at the receptor site were classified into six clusters, which represent synoptic-scale air-mass transport patterns. Long-range transport from the west leads to significant enhancements in the average fine- and coarse-mode PM mass loadings during all seasons. The contribution of long-range transport from the west and south-west (source regions: Arabia, Thar Desert, Middle East and Afghanistan) to coarse-mode PM varied between 9 and 57 % of the total PM10–2.5 mass. Local pollution episodes (wind speed < 1 m s−1) contributed to enhanced PM2.5 mass loadings during both the winter and summer seasons and to enhanced coarse-mode PM only during the winter season. South-easterly air masses (source region: eastern IGP) were associated with significantly lower fine- and coarse-mode PM mass loadings during all seasons. The fraction of days in each season during which the PM mass loadings exceeded the national ambient air quality standard was controlled by long-range transport to a much lesser degree. For the local cluster, which represents regional air masses (source region: NW-IGP), the fraction of days during which the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) of 60 μg m−3 for 24 h average PM2.5 was exceeded varied between 36 % of the days associated with this synoptic-scale transport during the monsoon, and 95 % during post-monsoon and winter seasons; the fraction of days during which the NAAQS of 100 μg m−3 for the 24 h average PM10 was exceeded, varied between 48 % during the monsoon and 98 % during the post-monsoon season. Long-range transport was responsible for both, bringing air masses with a significantly lower fraction of exceedance days from the eastern IGP and air masses with a moderate increase in the fraction of exceedance days from the west (source regions: Arabia, Thar Desert, Middle East and Afghanistan). In order to bring PM mass loadings into compliance with the NAAQS and to reduce the number of exceedance days, mitigation of regional combustion sources in the NW-IGP needs to be given highest priority.