Size distribution, emission rate, and decay characteristics of particles emitted by printers

• Published in: Air quality, atmosphere and health atmosphere and health, 2022-08, Vol.15 (8), p.1427-1438
• Main Authors: Zou, Changwei, Jiang, Miaoting, Huang, Hong, Chen, Hunan, Sheng, Li, Li, Jianlong, Yu, Chenglong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Chambers; Decay; Decay rate; Earth and Environmental Science; Emission; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Health; Health hazards; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Indoor air; Indoor air pollution; Indoor environments; Low pressure; Particle decay; Particle size; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Printers; Printing; Size distribution
• ISSN: 1873-9318; 1873-9326
• DOI: 10.1007/s11869-022-01174-3

The particulate matter (PM) emitted by printers during printing pollute the indoor air, which can pose a health hazard for the people indoors. The source strength, decay characteristics, and mechanism of the PM emitted by printers were studied. A sealed chamber was used for printing experiments, and the particle number concentrations were monitored in real time using an Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (ELPI+). Our findings highlight the negative impact of printing on the indoor environment. The printers directly emitted particles covering three size ranges: 15.8–94.5 nm, 94.5–313 nm, and 313–949 nm. The emission rates of PM 0.1 and PM 0.1-1 by the printers were 1.57×10 8 –53.83×10 8 /min and 3.46×10 8 –143.81×10 8 /min, respectively. The printer and the amount of toner used both affected the emission of particles, especially PM 0.1-1 . The particles emitted were mostly decayed within 1 h after printing; moreover, the decay of PM 0.1-1 was slower than that of PM 0.1 . The decay rates of PM 0.1 were 0.016–0.083/min in the 0–30 min period and approached 0 in the 30–60 min period. The decay rates of PM 0.1-1 were 0.015–0.127/min within 60 min after printing and differed little across periods. One hour after printing, all but a very small proportion of particles measuring 54.5–94.5 nm was decayed in the chamber, indicating that particles of that size were decayed with greater difficulty.