INFLUENCE OF OZONE-LIMONENE REACTIONS ON PERCEIVED AIR QUALITY

摘要

The present study was designed to evaluate the perceived air quality in low polluting office environments when ozone and limonene were simultaneously present in the air. The measurements were made in four identical and adjacent 40 m3 test offices ventilated with outdoor air at 1.4 h-1 (22°C; 50% relative humidity). Ozone and limonene were introduced into each test office separately or together at different rates to obtain various ratios of pollutant concentrations. After a given condition reached steady state, subjects entered the offices one-by-one and immediately assessed the air quality. The results indicate that, for each condition, the perceived air quality was poorer in the office where ozone and limonene were present together compared to the offices where only ozone or only limonene was present. Particle concentrations and the resulting particle size distributions were monitored prior to and during the sensory evaluations. The total number ofparticles increased significantly when ozone and limonene were present together, with the magnitude of the increase depending on the relative concentration of the reactants. The largest increase in particle concentrations was observed for particles smaller than 0.3μm diameter. A correlation was observed between the resulting particle number concentration and the sensory pollution load.