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Emissions of air pollutants from Chinese cooking: A literature review

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Abstract

Cooking can release high concentrations of different air pollutants indoors, including particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other gaseous pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of carbon (COx), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Although some reviews have been conducted on emissions from cooking, they have not paid specific attention to Chinese cooking. Subsequent research, however, has focused on this aspect. We collected literature from 1995 to 2016 and summarized air pollutant emissions from Chinese cooking. We analyzed the characteristics of such pollutants based on different influential factors. It was found that the cooking method could have a predominant impact on emissions from Chinese cooking, and oil-based cooking produces air pollutants at much higher levels than water-based cooking. In addition, the use of gas stoves released more pollutants than electric stoves. Furthermore, the type and temperature of oil could have caused disparity in source strengths from the oil heating process. Ventilation patterns or the operation mode of range hoods could control indoor pollution levels. With more information focused on Chinese cooking emissions, we can propose more effective strategies for improving the indoor air environment in China.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China on “Green Buildings and Building Industrialization” through Grant No. 2016YFC0700500 and funding from Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51521005).

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  1. Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yuejing Zhao & Bin Zhao

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Indoor Air Quality Evaluation and Control, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Bin Zhao

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  1. Yuejing Zhao
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Correspondence to Bin Zhao.

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Zhao, Y., Zhao, B. Emissions of air pollutants from Chinese cooking: A literature review. Build. Simul. 11, 977–995 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-018-0456-6

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