Abstract
Nowadays, many people work in an office environment. Air pollutants, including particles and gases, are generated by
humans and by different devices that are used in offices. Pollutants can also enter an office room with the air supplied from outdoors. It
has been established that air pollutants have adverse health effects on human body. Air cleaning devices are commonly marketed as
being beneficial for the health by removing air pollutants and consequently improving indoor air quality. The performance of five air
cleaning technologies was tested in order to determine the generation of ozone and particles in an office room. The particle removal
effectiveness of the technologies was also determined in order to clarify their ability to remove UFPs (ultrafine particles) in the office
room. The tested five air cleaning technologies are non-thermal plasma, corona discharge ionizer, portable air purifier, electrostatic
fibrous filter and three-dimensional fibrous filter. The interior surfaces of the office room emit low levels of volatile organic
compounds, since the office room has not been refurbished for about two decades. The results showed that the particle removal
effectiveness of the technologies was ranged between 0.2 and 0.45 for the office room. The three technologies using/generating ozone
significantly increased the ozone level in the office room. However, no increase of the UFP concentration was detected.
humans and by different devices that are used in offices. Pollutants can also enter an office room with the air supplied from outdoors. It
has been established that air pollutants have adverse health effects on human body. Air cleaning devices are commonly marketed as
being beneficial for the health by removing air pollutants and consequently improving indoor air quality. The performance of five air
cleaning technologies was tested in order to determine the generation of ozone and particles in an office room. The particle removal
effectiveness of the technologies was also determined in order to clarify their ability to remove UFPs (ultrafine particles) in the office
room. The tested five air cleaning technologies are non-thermal plasma, corona discharge ionizer, portable air purifier, electrostatic
fibrous filter and three-dimensional fibrous filter. The interior surfaces of the office room emit low levels of volatile organic
compounds, since the office room has not been refurbished for about two decades. The results showed that the particle removal
effectiveness of the technologies was ranged between 0.2 and 0.45 for the office room. The three technologies using/generating ozone
significantly increased the ozone level in the office room. However, no increase of the UFP concentration was detected.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Pages (from-to) | 757-766 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISSN | 1934-7359 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |