The concern of fine particle (PM2.5) management of outdoor environments has been increasing due to its exposure and related health effects in Korea. As a result, PM2.5 standard in atmosphere environment was regulated in 2015. On the other hand, indoor PM2.5 standard has been required because most people spent their times in indoor environments. In this study, we measured the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations both indoor and outdoor environments of public-use facilities such as underground stations, underground shopping centers, and nurseries for 24 hour with filter-weighing method in Seoul and Daegu. Measurement duration was from March to April in 2014 during the Asian dust period. At all measurements, indoor to outdoor (I/O) concentration ratios exceeded 1 except 1 day nursery in Daegu in spite of Asian dust period. The ratios of PM2.5 to PM10 concentrations ranged from 0.63 to 0.75 in indoor environments, and from 0.63 to 0.82 in outdoor, indicating that PM2.5 should be carefully managed in indoor environments as well as outdoor atmosphere.
Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) contains a large variety of substances, of which at least 50 are known to or are believed to be carcinogenic. Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare has started to prevent public exposure to ETS by enacting indoor smoking bans, some facilities still allow their customers or users to smoke indoors. In this study, indoor air quality in a pub was investigated by monitoring particulate matters (PM1.0 and PM2.5), heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb) and nicotine concentration to figure out the influence force of smoking behavior on indoor air quality. Smoking behaviors are revealed to be a major contributor the contamination of indoor air in pubs. The range of PM2.5 mass concentrations were 82.2~208.0 μg/m3 and the mean concentration of PM2.5 was 135.9 μg/m3. In the case of nicotine, the mean concentration was 12.2 μg/m3 with a range from 2.7 to 24.1 μg/m3. In the results of metal analysis, the levels of heavy metals in particulate matters in a pub were found to be much higher than those of the other public facilities.
During periods where a fine dust watch was announced, we measured particulate matter by the light scattering method and the gravimetric method in accordance with the application of an air cleaner in 3 homes. The first investigation showed a lower indoor particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) concentration distribution than normal when there was a fine dust warning. Also, it was found that the result of the second research was similar to the first research, and was the effect of an air cleaner. The result of a comparison of black carbon (BC) concentration in accordance with an air cleaner at one room showed a lower concentration distribution than normal, as in the first and the second research when there was a fine dust warning. PM2.5 risk reduction effect showed 9.09E-5 (light scattering method) ~ 9.37E-5 (Gravimetric method) and 1.71E-4 (Light scattering method) ~ 1.76E-4 (Gravimetric method). Therefore, it was found that when there was a fine dust watch without ventilation, if air cleaner with the proper capacity is used and the influx of outside air reduced, the harmful effects of the fine dust can be lessened.
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of malodor and VOCs reduction that could be achieved through the installation of a vapor recovery system (VRS) in a gas station. It was revealed that the reduction efficiencies of malodor by running VRS were about 93% around the oil feeder, 32% in the office and 45% in the site boundary. Specifically, it was remarkable that reduction efficiencies of BTEX over 90% were recorded through VRS operation. In addition, the results of continuous monitoring of THC around the oil feeder device provided good evidence of the inhibition of oil mist diffusion after running VRS.
This study investigated the convergence of the QEEG and mood state changes in healthy females from teens to twenties on the inhalation of jasmine oil in different concentrations (0.01~100%). Brain activity upon stimulation by different concentrations was analyzed based on the RPVs and CVB, representing a rate of change compared with the background QEEG. The emotions elicited through jasmine were evaluated on a 20-point scale. The result of this evaluation showed that jasmine deactivated fast alpha but activated theta. In addition, it provided evidence for changes in the frequency band according to concentration. As concentration increased, the effect of alpha inhibition decreased, while the effect of inhibition of the high frequency band (20~50 Hz) increased. SEF50 and SEF90, which indicate the state of arousal, decreased as the jasmine concentration increased. Furthermore, it was assessed as having a pleasant, feminine, fresh and soft odor. Therefore, this study suggested that the inhalation of jasmine oil affected brain wave activities and mood states.
The potential use of UV-TiO2 photocatalytic oxidation absorbent reactor in the removal of gaseous formaldehyde was studied. This study was conducted inside a bench-type circulation reactor chamber at ambient air conditions. PCO (Photocatalytic Oxidaion) degradation test for formaldehyde was done repeatedly and the average was reported. It was evident that photocatalytic oxidation was proven to be an effective method to control indoor air pollutants, like formaldehyde in indoor air. However, by-products are produced in the case of formaldehyde degradation also CO2, CO, H2O and formic acid are produced. These by-products can inhibit the active site of the photocatalyst. Thus, addition of adsorbent succeeding the PCO-TiO2, acts as a secondary treatment wherein produced by-products from the degradation and unreacted HCHO will adhere to the surface of the adsorbent. In this study, synthetic zeolite and activated carbon pellets were used to control of by-products of formaldehyde. PCOTiO2 degradation alone achieves 86% for a period of 60 minutes. Addition of adsorbent improves the removal efficiency achieving 90% and 96% using activated carbon pellet and zeolite, respectively.
This study has implemented an experiment in which hydrogen sulfide was removed by establishing a two-stage packed tower effector filled with nutritious medium and also filling a tower that was immobilized in ceramic media after isolating and identifying the sulfur oxidizing bacteria from a sewage treatment plant. As a result, strains isolated from the sewage treatment plant were found to be similar, including Bacillus fusiformis, Bacillus anthracis sp., Paenibacillus sp., Serratia marcescens sp., Bacillus thuringiensis. The effector that immobilized isolated strains in the ceramic media achieved an approximately 90% removal rate of hydrogen sulfide, while the sterilized ceramic media not immobilized with isolated strains showed a removal rate of about 65%. In addition, the removal rate of hydrogen sulfide in the primary media packing effector immobilized with sulfur oxidizing bacteria was about 92%, while the secondary effector filled with medium had a hydrogen sulfide removal rate near 100%. In addition, 90% efficiency of removal was shown in conditions of EBCT 60s in the experiment that investigated removal rate of hydrogen sulfide according to residence-time, while the efficiency was rapidly reduced up to 45% in conditions of EBCT 30s. On the other hand, when operating for an extended period time while increasing the concentration of injected hydrogen sulfide, the amount of sulfate was increased from 2 mg/L to 12.7 mg/L, and pH was rapidly reduced to 2.7.
This study has implemented an experiment in which hydrogen sulfide was removed by establishing a two-stage packed tower effector filled with nutritious medium and also filling a tower that was immobilized in ceramic media after isolating and identifying the sulfur oxidizing bacteria from a sewage treatment plant. As a result, strains isolated from the sewage treatment plant were found to be similar, including Bacillus fusiformis, Bacillus anthracis sp., Paenibacillus sp., Serratia marcescens sp., Bacillus thuringiensis. The effector that immobilized isolated strains in the ceramic media achieved an approximately 90% removal rate of hydrogen sulfide, while the sterilized ceramic media not immobilized with isolated strains showed a removal rate of about 65%. In addition, the removal rate of hydrogen sulfide in the primary media packing effector immobilized with sulfur oxidizing bacteria was about 92%, while the secondary effector filled with medium had a hydrogen sulfide removal rate near 100%. In addition, 90% efficiency of removal was shown in conditions of EBCT 60s in the experiment that investigated removal rate of hydrogen sulfide according to residence-time, while the efficiency was rapidly reduced up to 45% in conditions of EBCT 30s. On the other hand, when operating for an extended period time while increasing the concentration of injected hydrogen sulfide, the amount of sulfate was increased from 2 mg/L to 12.7 mg/L, and pH was rapidly reduced to 2.7.
This study investigates ventilation and processing methods for industrial facilities by analyzing the distribution chart and concentration of fine particles generated. Analyses of fine particles were conducted in crushing rooms, sorting room, Primary manufacturing room and packing room, where the concentration of 0.3~10.0 μm particles were measured for 10 minutes during processing of herb medicines. The result revealed that particles with sizes greater than or equal to PM2.685 took up most of the space, and the concentration of fine particles (PM10) was 1,672.24 μg/m3 in 1th crushing room, 3,144.7 μg/m3 in crushing 2nd room, 262.45 μg/m3 in sorting room, prior to processing (2,302.3 μg/m3 for Aralia continentails and 5,564.9 μg/m3 for Poria cocos), 4,656.5 μg/m3 in Primary manufacturing room, and 20,213.3 μg/m3 in packing room. The concentration of fine particles generated during manufacture of herb medicines was, in comparison to the standard of 150 μg/m3 established in the Indoor Air Quality Control Act, 1.7 to 135 times higher. High concentrations of fine particles were found in all rooms, except for packing, even with partial ventilation. Also, it can be inferred that adequate deodorization system may be required in order to control unpleasant herb odors. Through this study, it is recommended that the use of scrubbers and concealment may facilitate control of fine particles containment.
In this study, odor sensors were evaluated in two areas, which were reproducibility of measurements and linearity and correlation of results. The evaluation of linearity and correlation showed that the linearity of the measurement object substance at low, medium and high concentrations of all intervals, and correlation (R2) also appeared to be quite high, at 0.8 to 0.9. Specific performance evaluation results of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, TVOC and complex odor sensor to the individual substances are somewhat different, but the result have able tendencies. All odor sensors showed detectable in all metrics at 5 ppb concentration in temperature 25oC, humidity 50%. However, there is needs to be determined that in many cases the standard deviation is 10% or more in 5 ppb, and reproducibility appears in the high concentration region with a standard deviation of less than 10%. Because complex odor sensor (MOS sensor) output value is relatively accurate concentration value for the odor and the reaction was stable, MOS sensor is to be considered methods for measuring the complex odor. Reactivity of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and TVOC odor sensor to the concentration of individual odor substances stably displayed, but the reactivity of the mixture material showed the same trend, however, the hydrogen sulfide and TVOC sensor reactivity were unstable. There is thus a need to maintain the proper temperature and humidity environmental operating condition of odor sensors.
This study aims to evaluate the relationship between concentration and odor intensity using the odor sensory method for 4 types of fatty acid compounds and i-butyl alcohol. For the measurement, 18 panelists were selected based on several criteria through a panel test. Panelists chosen for their closely similar sensitivities provided more reproducible values. The estimation showed that the correlation of the concentration with odor intensity for the 5 compounds, including the fatty acid compounds and i-butyl alcohol can be reasonably expressed by the Weber-Fechner equation. Notably the standards regulation fatty acid concentrations are very strict, and the butyl acetate standards are very loose. It is suggested than the results of this study can be used as basic data for research on measures to improve the regulation standards on complex odor concentrations on site boundaries in operation, as well as the correlation between concentration and odor intensity for the designated foul odor substances, and their characteristics.
In this study, we investigated the concentrations of PM10 and CO2 in public transportation vehicles (express bus, train, KTX, and subway) reported by previous indoor air quality (IAQ) surveys carried out from 2005 to 2013 in Korea. The number of valid data for PM10 was 566 and for CO2 was 579, and all data were classified according to whether it was collected during rush-hour or non rush-hour. PM10 and CO2 concentrations in subway cabin during the rush-hour were 1.3 and 1.45 times higher, respectively, than those of non rush-hour (p<0.05) in terms of geometric mean value. PM10 and CO2 concentration of express bus and train during the rush-hour also were 1.23 times higher than those of non rush-hour with relatively weak correlations (p=0.246). Among all PM10 concentrations, 16.9% and 3.8% of PM10 concentrations exceeded the IAQ guidelines (200 μg/m3 for non-rush hour and 250 μg/m3 for rush-hour), respectively. In terms of CO2 concentrations, 10.5% and 3.0% of them exceeded the IAQ guidelines (2,500 ppm for non rush-hour and 3,000 ppm for rush-hour), respectively. As a result, concentrations of PM10 and CO2 were estimated to be dominantly influenced by the operation characteristics of public transportation, such as degree of congestion and type of vehicle. In order to improve the IAQ of public transportation vehicles, specific air purification and ventilation systems are needed, depending on the characteristics of public transportation vehicles.
The purpose of this study is to develop a scrubber wastewater cleaning system to improve the efficiency of odor reduction. We evaluated the changes in scrubber wastewater quality and odor reduction efficiencies before and after applying the pilot system. We determined that it was possible to extend the replacement cycle by two times or more considering the turbidity change and organic removal efficiency. Butyraldehyde, a major odor-causing substances in the exhaust gas of the target facility, is soluble in water. As a result, the odor reduction efficiency was improved by removing the butyraldehyde in the scrubber wastewater. Economically, it is possible to save about 12 million won per year. Thus, it is necessary to keep scrubber wastewater clean in order to improve the deodorization efficiency and reduce the cost of disposal.
This study was carried out in order to evaluate the design suitability of gas scrubbers, which have been operated in Siheung and Ansan Smarthubs, as an odor removal device. Detailed design data of 31 gas scrubbers installed between 2005 to 2014 were investigated. All the scrubbers investigated were found to use a “packed bed” design, and 30 of them used pall rings as packing materials. In determining the bed diameter of scrubbers, many facilities used incorrect packing parameters, which resulted in inappropriate design values for the bed diameter. In determining of the height of packed bed, the height of transfer unit (HTU) was calculated incorrectly because of the misuse of both the constants of packing materials and Schmidt numbers. In addition, the values of number of transfer unit (NTU) were found to be underestimated due to the low removal efficiency goal. Therefore, the adapted values of packed bed height were quite different from the ones calculated in many facilities.
Activated carbon (AC) was used as an adsorbent for removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The purpose of this research is to study the effect of acidic treatments of activated carbons on toluene adsorption. The physicalchemical properties of activated carbons were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, temperatureprogrammed desorption (TPD). The adsorption amount of toluene showed an order of S-AC-10% > S-AC-5% > A-AC > AC. It was also found that acid solution pH showed a significant influence on adsorption of toluene. Because strong acid treatment increased the surface oxygen group species of activated carbon, and this group was observed to be the carboxyl acid group by TPD analysis. In addition, the toluene adsorption amount by activated carbon increased with the concentration of H2SO4 solution from 5% to 10%. Adsorption ability of activated carbon surface with toluene is thought to increase as the amount of oxygen group on AC increases.