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Air quality in cabin environment of different passenger cars: effect of car usage, fuel type and ventilation/infiltration conditions

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Abstract

Despite that commuters spend only 5.5% of their time in cabin vehicles, their exposure to harmful air pollutants, originated from the vehicle itself, and traffic emission is considered significant. In this study, two passenger cars with different type of fuels were investigated in terms of air quality and thermal comfort of their cabin. Investigation was performed in the city of Kozani, Northern Greece. Moreover, air samples near the exhausts were taken, in order to compare concentration of compounds found indoors. Twelve volatile organic compounds and CO2 were measured inside the cabin when the cars were stopped, when idle and when they were cruising in medium and heavy traffic roads, under various ventilated conditions. Thermal comfort was investigated while driving the cars through the city traffic. Results showed that the air around the diesel exhaust is less affected by emissions from the engine compared to LPG fuel. This is reflected to the TVOC measured into the cabin. Results also revealed that the air quality of a diesel fuel moving car with open windows is only affected by the traffic emissions from neighbouring vehicles, while for the car with LPG fuel, the self-pollution from its own exhaust might contribute together with the outdoor air.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Technology Laboratory, University of Western Macedonia, Sialvera & Bakola Street, 50100, Kozani, Greece

    Evangelos I. Tolis, Tilemachos Karanotas, Grigoris Svolakis, George Panaras & John G. Bartzis

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  1. Evangelos I. Tolis
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  2. Tilemachos Karanotas
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  3. Grigoris Svolakis
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  4. George Panaras
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  5. John G. Bartzis
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Contributions

E.T. directed the research participate at sampling and analysis and wrote the manuscript with input from all authors, T.C. and G.S. participate to sampling and analysis, G.P. contributed to the indoor climate measurement and their analysis, and J.B. contributed to the resources and writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Evangelos I. Tolis.

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Responsible Editor: Constantini Samara

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Tolis, E.I., Karanotas, T., Svolakis, G. et al. Air quality in cabin environment of different passenger cars: effect of car usage, fuel type and ventilation/infiltration conditions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 51232–51241 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14349-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14349-9

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