Assessment of indoor air quality improvement for VOCs using an IoT sensor-based, context-aware mobile air purification system: A residential field study
This study evaluated changes in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) concentrations and health risks under three residential winter scenarios: no air purifier operation (S1), fixed air purifier operation (S2), and IoT-based mobile air purifier operation (S3). VOC reduction effects and non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were compared. Some VOCs, including benzene and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, decreased under air purifier operation compared with S1. Benzene concentrations in S3 were approximately 19.6% lower than in S2. The proportions satisfying S2/S1 < 1.0 and S3/S1 < 1.0 were 29.1% and 40.7%, respectively. This indicates a greater reduction tendency in S3, particularly in spaces without fixed purifiers, such as kitchens, studies, and general rooms. The exceedance rates of the hazard index (HI) threshold were 83.8%, 83.4%, and 39.3% for S1, S2, and S3, respectively. This represents an approximately 53% lower non-carcinogenic risk exceedance in S3. For carcinogenic risk, the excess cancer risk (ECR) of 2-propenenitrile in S3 decreased by 86.7% and 85.8% at the 50th percentile and by 55.4% and 63.3% at the 90th percentile, compared with S1 and S2, respectively. Although total ECR exceeded the acceptable level in all scenarios, S3 showed 46.9% and 46.2% lower values at the 50th percentile than S1 and S2. Overall, IoT-based mobile air purifier operation reduced VOC concentrations and mitigated health risks by targeting rooms with elevated pollution levels using roomspecific indoor air pollution information.