Partitioning of airborne PAEs on indoor impermeable surfaces: A microscopic view of the sorption process

Chen, Zhuo; Wu, Qianying; Xu, Ying; Mo, Jinhan

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127326

Cited by 12 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 47 publications

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“…Health effects caused by semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in the indoor environment have been an increasing concern. − SVOCs are ubiquitous in the indoor environment. The frequently reported indoor SVOCs include but are not limited to phthalate acid esters (PAEs) used as plasticizers in building materials, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDE) and phosphate organic compounds used as flame retardants, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produced during combustion. − Used as additives in materials, they gradually transfer from the original source to the indoor environment over long periods .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation on the Direct Transfer of SVOCs from Source to Settled Dust: Analytical Model and Key Parameter Determination

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Settled dust is an important medium for semivolatile organic compound (SVOC) transport indoors. Understanding the mechanism of interaction between SVOCs and settled dust can greatly improve the exposure assessment. This study develops an analytical model to elucidate the mechanism of direct contact between SVOC sources and settled dust. The model incorporates the adsorption of SVOCs onto indoor surfaces, which was ignored in previous numerical models. Based on this model, a hybrid optimization method is applied to determine the key parameters of SVOC transport, i.e., the diffusion coefficient in the dust, the dust–air partition coefficient, and the chamber surface–air partition coefficient. Experiments of direct contact between SVOC source materials containing organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) and settled dust were conducted in chambers. The key parameters were determined by performing curve fitting using data collected from the OPFR chamber tests and from the literature on phthalates. The reliability and robustness of the model and measurement method are demonstrated by the high fitting accuracy and sensitivity analysis. The obtained key parameters are more accurate than those from correlations in prior studies. Further analysis indicates that dust–air partition coefficient plays an important role and the adsorption effect on surfaces cannot be neglected for SVOC transport.

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