| Title: | Formation of Oxidized Gases and Secondary Organic Aerosol from a Commercial Oxidant-Generating Electronic Air Cleaner |
| Author(s): | Joo T; Rivera-Rios JC; Alvarado-Velez D; Westgate S; Ng NL; |
| Address: | "School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States" |
| DOI: | 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00416 |
| Abstract: | "The COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for indoor air cleaners. While some commercial electronic air cleaners can be effective in reducing primary pollutants and inactivating bioaerosol, studies on the formation of secondary products from oxidation chemistry during their use are limited. Here, we measured oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) and the chemical composition of particles generated from a hydroxyl radical generator in an office. During operation, enhancements in OVOCs, especially low-molecular-weight organic acids, were detected. Rapid increases in particle number and mass concentrations were observed, corresponding to the formation of highly oxidized secondary organic aerosol (SOA) (O:C approximately 1.3), with an enhanced signal at m/z 44 (CO(2)(+)) in the organic mass spectra. These results suggest that organic acids generated during VOC oxidation contributed to particle nucleation and SOA formation. Nitrate, sulfate, and chloride also increased during the oxidation without a corresponding increase in ammonium, suggesting organic nitrate, organic sulfate, and organic chloride formation. As secondary species are reported to have detrimental health effects, further studies should not be limited to the inactivation of bioaerosol or reduction of particular VOCs, but should also evaluate potential OVOCs and SOA formation from electronic air cleaners in different indoor environments" |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEJoo, Taekyu Rivera-Rios, Jean C Alvarado-Velez, Daniel Westgate, Sabrina Ng, Nga Lee eng 2021/07/14 Environ Sci Technol Lett. 2021 Jul 14; 8(8):691-698. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00416. eCollection 2021 Aug 10" |
