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The lasting effect of limonene-induced particle formation on air quality in a genuine indoor environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 22, pages 14209–14219 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Atmospheric ozone-terpene reactions, which form secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles, can affect indoor air quality when outdoor air mixes with indoor air during ventilation. This study, conducted in Leipzig, Germany, focused on limonene-induced particle formation in a genuine indoor environment (24 m3). Particle number, limonene and ozone concentrations were monitored during the whole experimental period. After manual ventilation for 30 min, during which indoor ozone levels reached up to 22.7 ppb, limonene was introduced into the room at concentrations of approximately 180 to 250 μg m−3. We observed strong particle formation and growth within a diameter range of 9 to 50 nm under real-room conditions. Larger particles with diameters above 100 nm were less affected by limonene introduction. The total particle number concentrations (TPNCs) after limonene introduction clearly exceed outdoor values by a factor of 4.5 to 41 reaching maximum concentrations of up to 267,000 particles cm−3. The formation strength was influenced by background particles, which attenuated the formation of new SOA with increasing concentration, and by ozone levels, an increase of which by 10 ppb will result in a six times higher TPNC. This study emphasizes indoor environments to be preferred locations for particle formation and growth after ventilation events. As a consequence, SOA formation can produce significantly higher amounts of particles than transported by ventilation into the indoor air.

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Acknowledgments

The first author would like to thank the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt for funding this research and especially Brigitte Winkler who conducted the laboratory preparation of the VOC samples for GC/MS analyses and the evaluation of the GC/MS data.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Carolin Rösch & Uwe Schlink

  2. Department of Metabolomics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Dirk K. Wissenbach & Martin von Bergen

  3. Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Aalborg University, Fredrik BajersVej 5, 9220, Aalborg Øst, Denmark

    Martin von Bergen

  4. Department of Environmental Immunology—Core Facility Studies, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Ulrich Franck

  5. Leipzig Institute for Meteorology - LIM, Faculty of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Leipzig, Stephanstrasse 3, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Manfred Wendisch

Authors
  1. Carolin Rösch
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  2. Dirk K. Wissenbach
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  3. Martin von Bergen
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  4. Ulrich Franck
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  5. Manfred Wendisch
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carolin Rösch.

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Responsible editor: Gerhard Lammel

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Supplementary Data 1

The supplementary data section includes Table S1 containing VOC mean, median, minimum and maximum concentrations; Table S2 containing experimental data of particle, VOC and ozone measurements; Table S3 containing meteorological parameters of outdoor air; Figure S1 representing the contour plots of particle number concentrations for pre-experiments. (DOCX 110 kb)

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Rösch, C., Wissenbach, D.K., von Bergen, M. et al. The lasting effect of limonene-induced particle formation on air quality in a genuine indoor environment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 14209–14219 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4663-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4663-8

Keywords

  • Indoor air quality
  • Ozonolysis
  • Particle formation
  • Limonene
  • Particle growth
  • Indoor environment