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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

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Front Envir Sci Eng    2012, Vol. 6 Issue (2) : 184-194    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-011-0309-3
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Indoor carbonyl compounds in an academic building in Beijing, China: concentrations and influencing factors
Chuanjia JIANG, Pengyi ZHANG()
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Abstract

Carbonyl compounds in indoor air are of great concern for their adverse health effects. Between February and May, 2009, concentrations of 13 carbonyl compounds were measured in an academic building in Beijing, China. Total concentration of the detected carbonyls ranged from 20.7 to 189.1 μg·m-3, and among them acetone and formaldehyde were the most abundant, with mean concentrations of 26.4 and 22.6 μg·m-3, respectively. Average indoor concentrations of other carbonyls were below 10 μg·m-3. Principal component analysis identified a combined effect of common indoor carbonyl sources and ventilation on indoor carbonyl levels. Diurnal variations of the carbonyl compounds were investigated in one office room, and carbonyl concentrations tended to be lower in the daytime than at night, due to enhanced ventilation. Average concentrations of carbonyl compounds in the office room were generally higher in early May than in late February, indicating the influence of temperature. Carbonyl source emission rates from both the room and human occupants were estimated during two lectures, based on one-compartment mass balance model. The influence of human occupants on indoor carbonyl concentrations varies with environmental conditions, and may become significant in the case of a large human occupancy.
Keywords carbonyl compounds      indoor air      ventilation      human occupancy      source emission rate (SER)      principal component analysis (PCA)     
Corresponding Author(s): ZHANG Pengyi,Email:zpy@tsinghua.edu.cn   
Issue Date: 01 April 2012
 Cite this article:   
Pengyi ZHANG,Chuanjia JIANG. Indoor carbonyl compounds in an academic building in Beijing, China: concentrations and influencing factors[J]. Front Envir Sci Eng, 2012, 6(2): 184-194.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-011-0309-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2012/V6/I2/184
eventdatetemperature /°CRH /%CO2 /ppmO3 /ppb
OFApril 24th to 29th25.6 (21.8-27.9)a)16.4 (8.6-25.9) a)604 (330-830) a)21.6 (3.1-47.0) a)
ODApril 29th21.126.746063.2
CRMay 27th29.937.162010.7
DV1February 22nd22.8 (19.5-25.7) a)20.7(18.3-23.6) a)n. m. b)n. m.
DV2May 3rd29.9 (27.9-31.7) a)18.4 (13.7-22.7) a)600 (461-688) a)7.8 (1.8-19.9) a)
MR1April 3rd23.1/24.4c)18.5/22.2 c)543 (502-608) a,d)n. m.
MR2May 26th27.8/26.6 c)18.4/49.5 c)534 (515-555) a,d)60.6 (44.4-74.2) a,d)
Tab.1  Summary of indoor temperature, RH, CO, and ozone concentrations during the sampling events
compoundsoffice rooms and meeting rooma)(N = 22)copy room(N = 1)outdoors(N = 1)
meanSDminmax
carbonyls/(μg·m-3)
formaldehyde22.611.06.347.579.87.0
acetaldehyde8.54.02.417.014.44.9
acetone26.413.27.557.443.77.4
propionaldehyde1.40.80.33.63.81.0
crotonaldehyden.d.b)-n.d.n.d.n.d.n.d.
C4 carbonylsc)3.21.8n.d.7.68.02.3
Benzaldehyde0.90.5n.d.2.23.40.4
Valeraldehyde0.40.5n.d.1.83.3n.d.
p-tolualdehyden.d.-n.d.n.d.n.d.n.d.
Hexaldehyde3.82.9n.d.12.19.0n.d.
total carbonyls67.830.720.7148.2165.923.9
TVOC/(μg·m-3)0.1370.0980.0470.4510.2610.111
Tab.2  Carbonyl compound and TVOC concentrations in office rooms, a meeting room, a copy room, and on an outdoor balcony in the academic building
FAAAACPAC4BAVAHATVOCCO2O3
formaldehyde (FA)1
acetaldehyde (AA)0.88b)1
acetone (AC)0.77b)0.76b)1
propionaldehyde (PA)0.92b)0.96b)0.79b)1
C4 carbonyls (C4)0.76b)0.78b)0.76b)0.77b)1
benzaldehyde (BA)0.93b)0.93b)0.84b)0.95b)0.84b)1
valeraldehyde (VA)0.81b)0.85b)0.65b)0.89b)0.59b)0.83b)1
hexaldehyde (HA)0.84b)0.87b)0.85b)0.91b)0.72b)0.90b)0.85b)1
TVOC0.50a)0.440.60b)0.46a)0.78b)0.54a)0.290.56b)1
CO20.62b)0.63b)0.57b)0.61b)0.61b)0.68b)0.380.68b)0.59b)1
ozone (O3)-0.38-0.41-0.55a)-0.45a)-0.29-0.39-0.25-0.53a)-0.41-0.46a)1
Tab.3  Pearson correlation coefficients for carbonyls, TVOC, CO , and ozone concentrations
component
PC1PC2
formaldehyde0.923-0.178
acetaldehyde0.936-0.222
acetone0.8810.121
propionaldehyde0.956-0.222
C4 carbonyls0.8580.155
benzaldehyde0.970-0.137
valeraldehyde0.825-0.476
hexaldehyde0.948-0.043
TVOC0.6450.601
CO20.7280.372
ozone-0.519-0.488
initial eigenvalue7.891.15
variance/%71.710.5
cumulative/%71.782.2
Tab.4  Component matrix from principal component analysis
Fig.1  Diurnal variation of carbonyl compound concentrations and TVOC in one office room during sampling events DV1 and DV2 (Sampling dates for DV1 and DV2 are February 22nd and May 3rd, respectively.)
MR1MR2
beforeafter-1after-2beforeafter-1after-2
formaldehyde19.724.725.424.149.857.9
acetaldehyde12.014.714.510.325.927.2
acetone56.259.762.318.076.167.9
propionaldehyde1.21.61.61.43.25.0
crotonaldehyden.d.a)n.d.n.d.n.d.n.d.n.d.
C4 carbonyls3.95.05.04.98.211.0
benzaldehyde1.31.41.40.91.21.8
valeraldehyden.d.n.d.n.d.0.81.62.1
p-tolualdehyden.d.n.d.n.d.n.d.n.d.n.d.
hexaldehyde4.14.24.32.37.07.2
total carbonyls99.0111.9115.063.1173.4180.6
Tab.5  Carbonyl concentrations measured in Room 533 before and after lectures during sampling events MR1 and MR2 /(μg·m)
carbonyl compoundsQr /(μg·min-1)Qr′ /(μg·min-1·m-2)Qh /(μg·min-1·person-1)
MR1MR2MR1MR2MR1MR2
formaldehyde108.1182.21.101.85-0.44-1.47
acetaldehyde44.961.00.460.620.260.24
acetone303.2158.83.081.61-2.184.06
propionaldehyde4.718.80.050.190.01-0.46
C4 carbonyls15.534.20.160.350.04-0.64
benzaldehyde4.95.60.050.060.00-0.14
valeraldehyde-7.0-0.07--0.11
hexaldehyde20.019.60.200.20-0.080.10
Tab.6  Source emission rates of carbonyl compounds from the room and per occupant for sampling events MR1 and MR2
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