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Volatile organic compounds emitted by the stacks of restaurants

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Abstract

Volatile organic compound (VOC) samples were collected from the exhaust stacks on the roofs of a university canteen, a charcoal-grilled chicken restaurant and a wood-oven roasted piglet restaurant on sorbent tubes with Carbopack B and C packing and analysed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection. Concurrent sampling of carbonyls was also conducted using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine cartridges with analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography. Two main reasons may have contributed to the emission of much lower levels in the exhaust of the kitchen of the university canteen: (i) hoods having thick filters and (ii) use of gas and electricity as energy sources for cooking. Larger emission rates of 2-butanone were measured from boiled dishes prepared in the canteen than those from other menus. Chlorinated VOCs have only been detected in samples of the chicken restaurant. Benzene was the compound with the highest emission rates from the chicken and piglet restaurants (201 and 178 kg year−1, respectively). In general, the emissions from most dishes presented a higher concentration of acetaldehyde compared to formaldehyde. The ozone formation potentials of VOCs and carbonyls emitted by the two restaurants are incomparably higher than those estimated for the university canteen. The reactivity of VOCs from the chicken and piglet restaurants is higher than those reported for vehicle emissions or other sources.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Portuguese Science Foundation through the project “Source apportionment of URBan Emissions of primary particulate matter”, PTDC/AAC-AMB/117956/2010 (URBE). A special acknowledgment is given to the restaurant’s owners for their selfless collaboration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Environment and Marine Studies, Department of Environment, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Célia A. Alves, Margarita Evtyugina, Mário Cerqueira, Teresa Nunes, Márcio Duarte & Estela Vicente

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  1. Célia A. Alves
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  2. Margarita Evtyugina
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  3. Mário Cerqueira
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  4. Teresa Nunes
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  5. Márcio Duarte
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  6. Estela Vicente
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Correspondence to Célia A. Alves.

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Alves, C.A., Evtyugina, M., Cerqueira, M. et al. Volatile organic compounds emitted by the stacks of restaurants. Air Qual Atmos Health 8, 401–412 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-014-0310-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-014-0310-7

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