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Lecture 21

Indoor air quality is influenced by both indoor and outdoor pollutant sources. Common indoor pollutants include those from combustion like CO and NOx, tobacco smoke, chemicals emitted from building materials like VOCs and radon from soils. Air exchanges between indoor and outdoor environments through infiltration, natural ventilation and mechanical ventilation. A box model can be used to model pollutant concentrations over time based on emission rates, air exchange rates, decay rates and indoor volumes. Radon enters buildings through cracks and gaps and is a significant source of radiation exposure that can lead to lung cancer, especially in smokers. Risk can be managed through sealing entry points and subslab suction systems. Common air pollution control methods include absorption, adsorption,

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55 views

Lecture 21

Indoor air quality is influenced by both indoor and outdoor pollutant sources. Common indoor pollutants include those from combustion like CO and NOx, tobacco smoke, chemicals emitted from building materials like VOCs and radon from soils. Air exchanges between indoor and outdoor environments through infiltration, natural ventilation and mechanical ventilation. A box model can be used to model pollutant concentrations over time based on emission rates, air exchange rates, decay rates and indoor volumes. Radon enters buildings through cracks and gaps and is a significant source of radiation exposure that can lead to lung cancer, especially in smokers. Risk can be managed through sealing entry points and subslab suction systems. Common air pollution control methods include absorption, adsorption,

Uploaded by

ahmad hassan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Air Pollution: Indoor Air

Quality and Air Pollution


Control
Indoor Air Quality
Sources and Types of Indoor Air
Pollutants
• Combustion processes (furnaces, stoves,
water heaters) – CO, NOx, HC, PM, SO2
• Tobacco smoke – CO, benzene, aldehydes,
PM, 4000+ organic compounds
• New building materials – VOCs, PM,
• Old building materials – Pb, asbestos
• Equipment – VOCs, PM, CO, O3
• Drains – HsS
• Soil and rock -- radon
Movement of Air Into / Out
of Buildings
• Amount of air available to dilute pollutants
– important indicator of the likely
contaminant concentration
• Indoor air can mix with outside air by three
mechanisms
– infiltration
– natural ventilation
– forced ventilation
Infiltration
• natural air exchange that occurs between a building
and its environment due to leakage
Ventilation
• Natural ventilation
– air exchange that occurs when windows or doors
are opened to increase air circulation
• Forced ventilation
– mechanical air handling systems used to induce
air exchange using fans and blowers
• Trade-offs
– cut infiltration to decrease heating and cooling
costs vs. indoor air quality problems
• Air/air heat exchangers allow heat recovery with ventilation
Indoor Air Quality Model
• Box model

Indoor Concentration, C
Infiltration, Q Volume, V Ex-filtration, Q
Concentration, Ca Emission Decay (k) Concentration, C
(E)

Source Sink
Indoor Air Quality Model
• Assumptions
– Volume of conditioned space in building
is constant
– Box is completely mixed so that
concentration is uniform
– Decay of pollutant occurs by first order
degradation dC/dt = -kC
– Emission rate is constant (g/s)
– Infiltration rate = ex-filtration rate
Indoor Air Quality Model
• Mass Balance

Mass Rate Mass Rate Mass Rate Mass Rate


of increase of pollutant of pollutant of decay
or decrease entering leaving

dC
V  QCa  E - QC - kCV
dt

V= volume (m3) C = concentration of pollutant (g/m3)


Q= infiltration flow (m3/s) Ca= concentration of outdoor air (g/m3)
k = decay coeff. (s-1) E = emission rate (g/s)
Indoor Air Quality Model
• General solution

C(t) 
E V   Ca Q V    Q    Q 
1  exp   k t    C0 exp   k t 
Q V   k   V    V 
• Steady state solution • Conservative Pollutant
QCa  E E Q 
C  Ct  1  exp t 
Q  kV Q V  
Radon
• 55% of our exposure to radiation comes
from radon
• colorless, tasteless, odorless gas
• formed from the decay of uranium
• found in nearly all soils
• levels vary
Radon
• Can cause lung cancer
• Estimated that 7,000 to 30,000 Americans
die each year from radon-induced lung
cancer
• Only smoking causes more lung cancer
deaths
• Smokers more at risk than non-smokers
Radon: How it Enters
Buildings
• Cracks in solid floors
• Construction joints
• Cracks in walls
• Gaps in suspended
floors
• Gaps around service
pipes
• Cavities inside walls
• The water supply
(From: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/radon/
pubs/citguide.html#howdoes)
Radon Risk Assessment
Radon Risk Management
• Relatively simple
techniques
• Seal entry points
– utility holes
– sumps
– crawl spaces
• subslab suction
– e.g. in drain tile
Air Pollution Control
Absorption
Adsorption
Combustion
Cyclone
Filtration
Electrostatic Precipitator
Liquid Scrubber
Sulfur Dioxide Control

http://www.apt.lanl.gov/projects/cctc/factsheets/puair/adflugasdemo.html

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