A study of the volatile organic compound emissions at the stacks of laboratory fume hoods in a university campus

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are potentially harmful air pollutants that are commonly encountered in urban environments. Various chemicals known to produce VOCs are used in laboratory fume hoods; however little research has been done to show the effect of such chemicals and associated VOCs on t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cleaner production 2014-03, Vol.66, p.10-18
Main Authors: Park, Jihoon, Lee, Limkyu, Byun, Hyaejeong, Ham, Seunghon, Lee, Ikmo, Park, Jeongim, Rhie, Kwangwon, Lee, Yunkeun, Yeom, Jongsoo, Tsai, Perngjy, Yoon, Chungsik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Air purifier
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Applied sciences
Atmospheric pollution
Biological and medical sciences
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Environment and sustainable development
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Green campus
Lab fume hood
Pollution
Volatile organic compounds
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Summary:Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are potentially harmful air pollutants that are commonly encountered in urban environments. Various chemicals known to produce VOCs are used in laboratory fume hoods; however little research has been done to show the effect of such chemicals and associated VOCs on the local air quality. This study aims to assess the concentration of various VOCs emitted from the exhaust stacks of rooftop fume hoods mounted on laboratory buildings, as well as to determine factors that contribute to different concentrations of commonly encountered VOCs. A total of six university campus buildings, comprising four laboratory buildings and two non-laboratory buildings as controls, were selected as case studies. VOCs were sampled using activated charcoal tubes in front of fume hood exhausts located on the rooftops of buildings and were analyzed GC/FID. Factors such as meteorological conditions and the amount of chemicals utilized in the building of interest were investigated. A total of 11 individual compounds were quantified in the samples collected. The concentrations of 11 VOCs at laboratory buildings were significantly higher (GM; 184.74 μg/m3, GSD; 3.38) than those of non-laboratory buildings (GM; 12.1 μg/m3, GSD; 1.64, p 
ISSN:0959-6526
1879-1786
DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.024