Emission and burnt smell characteristics from combustion experiments with defined materials

Typical burnt smell often results from fire accidents or in general from incomplete combustion. Recently, eleven compounds were identified, which are basically responsible for this odour. When analyzing residual materials from different fire accidents, the pattern that means the relative ratios of these compounds among each other varies strongly, although always causing a burnt smelling. Consequently, lab-scale combustion experiments were performed in order to investigate the influence of defined materials from domestic environment on the burnt-smell fingerprints. Furthermore, the occurrence of other polar and higher molecular combustion products was studied. It was found that under good combustion conditions, the burnt smell patterns resulting from the single materials were astonishingly consistent, mostly dominated by methylphenols or naphthalene. No correlation could be found between these ‘fingerprints’ and combustion product groups identified by GC/MS-screenings. LC/MS/MS-measurements especially pointed at the existence of higher molecular weight phenolic and acidic functionalized compounds in the combustion residues.     

Outdoor experiments on enhanced volatilization by venting of kerosene component from soil

The effect of soil properties on the retention of kerosene in soils, at equilibrium and under venting, was studied. Eleven soils were studied, which represent a wide range of chemical properties and mechanical composition. The retention of kerosene in dry soils ranges from 3.5 to 18.1 mL/(100 g), and was related linearly to clay, silt and organic matter (OM) contents. A coarsely-aggregated dry vertisol (2–5 mm aggregates) retained half as much kerosene as its finely-aggregated (<2 mm) counterpart. Moisture content had a strong inverse effect on kerosene retention. The soil factors that inversely affected kerosene retention also enhanced kerosene stripping by venting. Of these, soil aggregation and porosity were the most important. In addition, kerosene volatilized faster and more completely from an initially moist soil, as compared with an initially dry soil. Differential volatilization of lighter components of kerosene changed the chemical composition of the residue in the soil substantially, as compared with the initial composition.     

饮用水的异嗅异味研究进展

饮用水的异嗅异味问题已日益引起人们的重视。近几年，国内外在研究饮用水异嗅异味物质产生的原因、分析和控制的方法等方面取得了一些进展。     

Dust Controls for Outdoor Working Areas

The purpose of Informative Report No. 9, prepared by the TI-5 Public Utilities Committee of the Air Pollution Control Association, is to review the various methods available to power plants for controlling dust at working coal storage piles, car dumpers, coal unloading equipment, and fly ash disposal areas.     

沼液中臭味物质的去除方法及其对营养物质的影响

采用臭氧曝气法、粉末活性炭吸附法、颗粒活性炭过滤法、臭氧曝气-粉末活性炭吸附联用法、空气曝气-粉末活性炭吸附联用法对沼液中的氨气、硫化氢、吲哚、挥发酚类等主要致嗅物质的去除情况进行了研究,同时分析了不同方法对沼液中营养物质TN、DN、TP、DP等的影响。结果表明,采用粉末活性炭吸附法处理沼液,臭味物质的去除情况以及营养物质的保留效果最好,当粉末活性炭投加量为15 000 mg/L时,沼液中的硫化氢、吲哚、挥发酚已经完全去除,氨氮、氨气的去除率分别为11.42%、13.98%;DN、DP含量分别减少了10.46%、19.53%,但是TN、TP含量分别增加了6.26%、9.63%。     

Chemical composition of burnt smell caused by accidental fires: environmental contaminants

The chemical composition of the odors typical of fires has recently been deciphered. Basically the constituents are mixtures of acetophenone, benzyl alcohol, hydroxylated derivatives of benzaldehyde, methoxylated and/or alkylated phenols and naphthalene. This finding makes it possible to develop objective, practical analytic measurement methods for the burnt smell as a contribution to improving fire damage assessment and remediation monitoring. With the aid of an artificially produced burnt smell and a panel of testers the odor detection threshold of a test mixture was determined olfactometrically to 2 μg m⁻³. Using a defined burnt-smell atmosphere in a test chamber, analytical methods with active sampling, the adsorbents XAD 7 and TENAX TA, and GC/MS measurement were then optimized and tested with a view to being able to carry out sensitive quantitative measurement of burnt smells. A further practical method with particular application to the qualitative characterization of this odor is based on the use of a new SPME (solid-phase microextraction) field sampler with DVB/CAR/PDMS (divinylbenzene/Carboxen™/polydimethylsiloxane) fibers.     

Bioaerosol Concentration at an Outdoor Composting Center

ABSTRACT

Compost centers are one of many environments that produce airborne microorganisms. The objective of this study was to compare the bacterial, fungal, and acti-nomycete concentrations at the Norman, OK, compost center to background concentration of these same microorganisms. For this comparison, a modified Andersen Microbial Sampler was used. Sampling was performed at three sites at the outdoor compost center and at two background sites. The concentration of each microorganism was measured as total colony forming units per cubic meter (CFU/m³). The predominantly downwind compost center site had a 10-fold increase in all the microorganisms in comparison with the other sites (p < 0.05). The median concentrations (95% confidence interval) of total viable bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes at this site were 5059 (CI₉₅= 4952-9600) CFU/m³, 2023 (CI₉₅= 2586-6806) CFU/m³, 972 (CI₉₅= 964-1943) CFU/m³, and 2159 (CI₉₅= 1755-4190) CFU/m³, respectively.     

Modeling Relationships between Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality

ABSTRACT

Information about the ratio between indoor and outdoor concentrations (IO ratios) of air pollutants is a crucial component in human exposure assessment. The present study examines the relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations as influenced by the combined effect of time patterns in outdoor concentrations, ventilation rate, and indoor emissions. Two different mathematical approaches are used to evaluate IO ratios. The first approach involves a dynamic mass balance model that calculates distributions of transient IO ratios. The second approach assumes a linear relationship between indoor and outdoor concentrations. We use ozone and benzene as examples in various modeling exercises. The modeled IO ratio distributions are compared with the results obtained from linear fits through plots of indoor versus outdoor concentrations.     

Indoor/Outdoor Air Pollution Exposure Continuity Relationships

The indoor/outdoor air pollution exposure continuity relationships are considered in an attempt to define the major parameters determining the relation. The widely accepted hypothesis of a homeostatic balance between indoor and outdoor pollutant levels has been disclaimed using particulate lead as an index contaminant. A serial filtration collection technique was employed and analysis was performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of considering parameters other than outdoor pollutant levels in determining indoor air quality.     

Estimating the Effect of Being Indoors on Total Personal Exposure to Outdoor Air Pollution

A personal air quality model (PAQM) has been developed to estimate the effect of being indoors on total personal exposure to outdoor-generated air pollution. Designed to improve air toxics risk assessment, PAQM accounts for individual hourly activity patterns, indoor-outdoor differences, physical exercise level, and geographic location for up to 56 different population groups. Unique hourly activity profiles are specified for each population group; group members are assigned each hour to one of up to 10 different indoor and outdoor microenvironments. To illustrate PAQM use, we apply it to two example cases: a long-term example representative of situations where pollutant health impact is related to integrated exposure (as in the case of potentially carcinogenic air toxics) and a short-term example representative of situations where health impact is related to acute exposure to peak concentrations (as with ozone).

Case study results illustrate that personal exposure, and thus health risk, attributable to outdoor-generated air pollution is sensitive to indoor-outdoor differences and population mobility. Where health impact is related to long-term integrated exposure (e.g., air toxics), exposure and subsequent risk are likely to be lower than that estimated by previous modeling techniques which do not account for such effects.     

改进隔板絮凝池的数值模拟和实验

通过在廊道中增加了V型穿孔挡板,对传统往复式隔板絮凝池进行了改进,利用数值模拟和实验方法,探讨了改进絮凝池中流态、湍动能（κ）、耗散率（ε）分布情况以及这些参数对絮凝效果的影响。对多种方案进行了优化计算和实验,结果表明,在隔板絮凝池第1个廊道进口1/3和2/3处设置2个120°多孔V型挡板在各种方案中絮凝效果最好,能有效地增加水体紊动,提高絮凝效果,增设V型穿孔挡板后可以适当减少隔板絮凝池长度。     

Indoor/Outdoor Ozone Concentrations at a Contemporary Art Gallery

Ozone concentrations were measured both inside and outside the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, near a small city in rural eastern England, during a three-week period in summer. The inside concentration was typically 70 ± 10% of the outside concentration during the period of expected maximum outside levels. During the period of observation the maximum outside ozone levels ranged up to 60 ppb, although there have been periods at this location where outside ozone levels have been well in excess of 120 ppb. The relatively high indoor/outdoor ozone ratio is a function of the Centre’s design, its internal geometry, and its ventilation system. Conventional art galleries and museums experience much lower indoor ozone exposure. The measured indoor ozone levels imply deleterious effects on the gallery exhibits and an enhanced ozone exposure may have to be considered in the design of modern galleries and museums.     

Comparison between Two Outdoor Smog Chamber Facilities: Matched Experiments

Solid growth is seen for the air pollution control industry for the rest of the century. Over the next twelve years purchases of particulate control equipment in the U.S. will grow at a rate considerably better than the GNP; growth rates in developing countries will be even higher. The portion of air pollution control expenditures represented by FGD systems is predicted to rise from its current level of 12 percent to 62 percent in 1991 if acid rain legislation is passed as predicted. A significant market is seen also for municipal, industrial and agricultural waste incinerators. Geography plays an important role in the strength of the industry; in the future, industrialized countries will be the sites of new designs and applications, while developing countries will be the life extension of the tried and proven designs. Industrywide, new product development is seen as an underused route to success.     

Combustion experiments using pentachlorophenol on a pilot scale and full-scale

Chlorinated phenols are used at many saw mills for impregnation of saw timber. Waste products containing the used compound follow this process. Tests have been performed on pilot and full-scale in order to investigate the possibility of destroying these wastes by combustion.The pilot scale tests with 70 g of pentachlorophenol show that at a transit time of approximately 3 seconds and a combustion temperature of 600°C the unburnt residue was 50 mg/kg fed in pentachlorophenol. At 800°C the residue decreased to 15 mg/kg. No formation of octachlorodioxin could be proved.The full-scale test with a small amount of pentachlorophenol and a large amount of tetrachlorophenol show that at a transit time of approximately 0.9 seconds and a temperature varying during one test between 620–875° (average 760°C), the unburnt residue was 9 mg/kg for tetrachlorophenol and 650 mg/kg for pentachlorophenol. At an increased load the residue increased gradually, being 5.900 mg/kg for tetrachlorophenol and 7.100 mg/kg for pentachlorophenol at a test when the temperature was varied between 460 and 850° (average 620°C). Analyses of chlorinated dioxins show that octachlorodioxin was found in the flue gas at one of the tests. This may indicate a formation.     

Calibration of Sharp Cut Impactors for Indoor and Outdoor Particle Sampling

ABSTRACT

A low-flow rate, sharp cut point inertial impaction sampler was developed in 1986 that has been widely used in PM exposure studies in the United States and several other countries. Although sold commercially as the MS&T Area Sampler, this sampler is widely referred to as the Harvard Impactor, since the initial use was at the Harvard School of Public Health. Impactor nozzles for this sampler have been designed and characterized for flows of 4,10, 20, and 23 L/min and cut points of 1, 2, 5, and 10 |im. An improved method for determining the actual collecting efficiency curve was developed and used for the recent impactor calibrations reported here. It consists of placing a multiplet reduction impactor inline just downstream of the vibrating orifice aerosol generator to remove the multiplets, thus allowing only the singlet particle s to penetrate through to the impactor being calibrated.

This paper documents the techniques and results of recent nozzle calibrations for this sampler and compares it with other size-selective inertial impactors. In general, the impactors were found to have sharp cutoff characteristics. Particle interstage losses for all of the impactors were very low, with the exception of the 10-|im cut size 20 L/ min impactor, which had greater losses due to the higher flow rate. All of the cut nozzle laboratory calibrations compare favorably to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WINS-96 fine particle mass (PM_{2 5}) impactor calibration data.     

Outdoor tobacco smoke exposure at the perimeter of a tobacco-free university

There are few studies measuring exposure to outdoor tobacco smoke (OTS). Tobacco users often gather at the boundaries of tobacco-free campuses, resulting in unintended consequences. The objective of this study was to measure exposure levels from OTS on sidewalks bordering a tobacco-free university campus. Data were collected while walking along a sidewalk adjacent to a medium traffic road between May and August 2011. Monitoring occurred during “background,” “stop,” and “walk-through” conditions at and near hot spot area to measure fine particulate matter (<2.5 μm; PM_2.5) from OTS using a portable aerosol monitor. The average PM_2.5 levels during stop and walk-through conditions were significantly higher than during background conditions. PM_2.5 peak occurrence rate and magnitude of peak concentration were significantly different depending on smoking occurrence. The peak occurrence rate during the stop condition was 10.4 times higher than during the background condition, and 3.1 times higher than during the walk-through condition. Average peak PM_2.5 concentrations during the stop condition were 48.7% higher than during the background condition. In conclusion, individuals could be exposed to high levels of PM_2.5 when stopping or even passing by smokers outdoors at the perimeter of tobacco-free campuses. The design and implementation of tobacco-free campus policies need to take into account the unintended consequences of OTS exposure at the boundaries.

Implications:In this study, outdoor tobacco smoke (OTS) exposure was measured at the perimeter of tobacco-free campus. OTS exposure could be determined by peak analysis. Peak occurrence rate and peak concentration for OTS exposure were identified by using peak analysis. People could be exposed to high levels of PM_2.5 when standing or even passing by smokers at the perimeter of tobacco-free campus. OTS exposure measurement in other outdoor locations with smokers is needed to support outdoor smoking regulation.     

Outdoor air pollution in close proximity to a continuous point source

Data are lacking on human exposure to air pollutants occurring in ground-level outdoor environments within a few meters of point sources. To better understand outdoor exposure to tobacco smoke from cigarettes or cigars, and exposure to other types of outdoor point sources, we performed more than 100 controlled outdoor monitoring experiments on a backyard residential patio in which we released pure carbon monoxide (CO) as a tracer gas for continuous time periods lasting 0.5–2 h. The CO was emitted from a single outlet at a fixed per-experiment rate of 120–400 cc min^?1 (～140–450 mg min^?1). We measured CO concentrations every 15 s at up to 36 points around the source along orthogonal axes. The CO sensors were positioned at standing or sitting breathing heights of 2–5 ft (up to 1.5 ft above and below the source) and at horizontal distances of 0.25–2 m. We simultaneously measured real-time air speed, wind direction, relative humidity, and temperature at single points on the patio. The ground-level air speeds on the patio were similar to those we measured during a survey of 26 outdoor patio locations in 5 nearby towns. The CO data exhibited a well-defined proximity effect similar to the indoor proximity effect reported in the literature. Average concentrations were approximately inversely proportional to distance. Average CO levels were approximately proportional to source strength, supporting generalization of our results to different source strengths. For example, we predict a cigarette smoker would cause average fine particle levels of approximately 70–110 μg m^?3 at horizontal distances of 0.25–0.5 m. We also found that average CO concentrations rose significantly as average air speed decreased. We fit a multiplicative regression model to the empirical data that predicts outdoor concentrations as a function of source emission rate, source–receptor distance, air speed and wind direction. The model described the data reasonably well, accounting for ～50% of the log-CO variability in 5-min CO concentrations.