Efficiency and Eco-Costs of Air Purifiers in Terms of Improving Microbiological Indoor Air Quality in Dwellings—A Case Study

Abstract

Air pollution, a by-product of economic growth, generates an enormous environmental cost in Poland. The issue of healthy living spaces and indoor air quality (IAQ) is a global concern because people spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. An increasingly popular method to improve IAQ is to use air purifiers (APs). Indoor air is often polluted by bioaerosols (e.g., viruses, bacteria, fungi), which are a major concern for public health. This work presents research on culturable bacterial aerosol (CBA) samples collected from dwellings with or without active APs during the 2019 summer season. The CBA samples were collected using a six-stage Andersen cascade impactor (ACI). The CBA concentrations were expressed as Colony Forming Units (CFU) per cubic metre of air. The average concentration of CBA in dwellings when the AP was active was 450–570 CFU/m3, whereas the average concentration when the AP was not active was 920–1000 CFU/m3. IAQ, when the APs were active, was on average almost 50% better than in cases where there were no procedures to decrease the concentration of air pollutants. Moreover, the obtained results of the particle size distribution (PSD) of CBA indicate that the use of APs reduced the proportion of the respirable fraction (the particles < 3.3 µm) by about 16%. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to assess the ecological cost of air purification. Our conceptual approach addresses the impact of indoor air pollution on human health and estimates the ecological cost of APs and air pollution prevention policies.

Diversity of Bioaerosols in Selected Rooms of Two Schools and Antibiotic Resistance of Isolated Staphylococcal Strains (Bydgoszcz, Poland): A Case Study

“…Bioaerosols are always present in the air and contain contaminant particles including pollen and microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses [21,22]. As indicators of air quality, they play a key role in air quality and health risk assessment [23][24][25][26][27]. They can reduce air quality in educational institutions [11,28].…”

“…They can reduce air quality in educational institutions [11,28]. According to Brągoszewska [25], indoor air is often polluted by microbial bioaerosols, which are, therefore, a major public health concern.…”

Impact of Air-Purifying Plants on the Reduction of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Indoor Hot Desert Climate

“…VOCs samples such as toluene (C 7 H 8 ), ethylbenzene (C 8 H 10 ), xylene (C 8 H 10 ), and styrene (C 8 H 8 ) were collected using a charcoal tube, and formaldehyde (CH 2 O) sample was collected using a DNPH cartridge (Brągoszewska et al, 2019), which were extracted with CS 2 (carbon disulfide) and acetonitrile solutions, respectively. After extraction, VOCs were analyzed via gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), whereas formaldehyde (CH 2 O) was analyzed via highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Gunasinghe et al, 2021).…”

“If It’s Yellow, Let It Mellow, If It’s Brown, Let It Drown”: Examining the Health Effects of Drought-Induced Water Rationing for Sanitary Needs

“…Homes that lack the required amount of water for toilet use should not lack hand and surface sanitizers; said the discussant. Purifiers have been found to be effective in improving air quality in the home (Cheek et al, 2021;Cooper et al, 2021;Brągoszewska et al, 2019). In the same vein, the use of hand and surface sanitizers and disinfectants is believed to help prevent diseases (Dicken, et al, 2020;Sexton, et al, 2018).…”