Controlled air exchange rate method to evaluate reduction of volatile organic compounds by indoor air cleaners

Maneeshin Y Rajapakse; Theresa E Pistochini; Eva Borras; Mitchell M McCartney; Cristina E Davis

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137528

Controlled air exchange rate method to evaluate reduction of volatile organic compounds by indoor air cleaners

Chemosphere. 2023 Feb:313:137528. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137528. Epub 2022 Dec 14.

Authors

Maneeshin Y Rajapakse¹, Theresa E Pistochini², Eva Borras¹, Mitchell M McCartney³, Cristina E Davis⁴

Affiliations

¹ Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA; UC Davis Lung Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
² Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA; Western Cooling Efficiency Center, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
³ Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA; UC Davis Lung Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA; VA Northern California Health Care System, Mather, CA, USA.
⁴ Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA; UC Davis Lung Center, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA; VA Northern California Health Care System, Mather, CA, USA. Electronic address: cedavis@ucdavis.edu.

Abstract

Air cleaning technologies are needed to reduce indoor concentrations and exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Currently, air cleaning technologies lack an accepted test standard to evaluate their VOC removal performance. A protocol to evaluate the VOC removal performance of air cleaning devices was developed and piloted with two devices. This method injects a VOC mixture and carbon dioxide into a test chamber, supplies outdoor air at a standard building ventilation rate, periodically measures the VOC concentrations in the chamber using solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry over a 3-h decay period, and compares the decay rate of VOCs to carbon dioxide to measure the VOC removal air cleaning performance. The method was demonstrated with both a hydroxyl radical generator and an activated carbon air cleaner. It was shown that the activated carbon air cleaner device tested had a clean air delivery rate an order of magnitude greater than the hydroxyl radical generator device (72.10 vs 6.32 m³/h).

Keywords: Air cleaning; Indoor air quality; Method of test; Performance evaluation; Volatile organic compounds.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution, Indoor* / analysis
Air Pollution, Indoor* / prevention & control
Carbon Dioxide / analysis
Charcoal / analysis
Environmental Monitoring
Hydroxyl Radical / analysis
Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis

Substances

Volatile Organic Compounds
Air Pollutants
Charcoal
Carbon Dioxide
Hydroxyl Radical

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding