Experimental evaluation of the impact of ventilation on cooking-generated fine particulate matter in a Chinese apartment kitchen and adjacent room

Xiangang Xu; Ke Hu; Yingxin Zhang; Jiankai Dong; Chong Meng; Shengyuan Ma; Zhi Liu

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123821

Experimental evaluation of the impact of ventilation on cooking-generated fine particulate matter in a Chinese apartment kitchen and adjacent room

Environ Pollut. 2024 May 1:348:123821. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123821. Epub 2024 Mar 21.

Authors

Xiangang Xu¹, Ke Hu², Yingxin Zhang², Jiankai Dong³, Chong Meng⁴, Shengyuan Ma², Zhi Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Built Environment & National Engineering Research Center of Building Technology, Beijing, 100000, China; School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
² School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Built Environment & National Engineering Research Center of Building Technology, Beijing, 100000, China; School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin, 150090, China. Electronic address: djkhit@hit.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Built Environment & National Engineering Research Center of Building Technology, Beijing, 100000, China.
⁵ Foshan Shunde Midea Washing Appliance Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Foshan, 528311, China.

PMID: 38521392
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123821

Abstract

Cooking is one of the major contributors to indoor pollution. Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) produced during cooking commonly mix into adjacent rooms and elevates indoor PM_2.5 concentrations. The risk of human exposure to cooking-generated PM_2.5 is mainly related to the exposure duration and particulate matter (PM) concentration. The PM_2.5 concentration is influenced by cooking methods and ventilation patterns. Range hoods and open windows are conventional strategies for lowering the concentration of cooking-generated particles. To decrease PM emissions, kitchen air supply systems have been proposed, providing alternative possibilities for kitchen ventilation patterns. The effects of cooking methods, air supply systems, range hoods, and windows on PM_2.5 concentrations must be analyzed and compared. To understand and provide advice on reducing exposure to PM_2.5 due to cooking activities, we measured the PM_2.5 mass concentration in a kitchen and adjacent room during cooking. The identified factors, including cooking method, range hood use, window status, and air supply system, were varied based on orthogonal design. The delay time between the PM_2.5 peak in the kitchen and that in the adjacent room was determined. The degree of exposure risk for cooking-generated PM_2.5 was evaluated using the mean exposure dose. The results indicated that the mean PM_2.5 mass concentration in the kitchen ranged from 22 to 2296 μg/m³. In descending order, the factors affecting the indoor PM_2.5 concentration in the apartment studied were range hood use, cooking methods, window status, and air supply system. The PM_2.5 peak in the adjacent room occurred 200-800 s later than that in the kitchen. Other conditions being constant in these experiments, the use of range hoods, air supply systems, and windows reduce exposure doses by 90%, 37%, and 51%, respectively. These research results provide insights for reducing human exposure to cooking-generated PM_2.5.

Keywords: Adjacent room; Air supply; Cooking; Range hood.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution, Indoor* / analysis
China
Cooking / methods
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Particulate Matter / analysis

Substances

Particulate Matter
Air Pollutants