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Total surface area in indoor environments
- Source :
- Environmental science. Processesimpacts. 21(8)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Certain processes in indoor air, such as deposition, partitioning, and heterogeneous reactions, involve interactions with surfaces. We have characterized the surface area, volume, shape, and material of objects in 10 bedrooms, nine kitchens, and three offices. The resolution of the measurements was ∼1 cm. The ratio of surface area with contents to that without contents did not vary by type of room and averaged 1.5 ± 0.3 (mean ± standard deviation) across all rooms. The ratio of the volume minus contents to nominal volume averaged 0.9 ± 0.1 and was lower for kitchens compared to bedrooms and offices. Ignoring contents, the surface-area-to-volume ratio was 1.8 ± 0.3 m−1; accounting for contents, the ratio was 3.2 ± 1.2 m−1, or 78% higher. These two ratios did not vary by type of room and were similar to those measured for 33 rooms in another study. Due to substantial differences in the design and contents of kitchens, their ratios had the highest variability among the three room types. The most common shape of surfaces was flat rectangular, while each room also had many irregularly-shaped objects. Paint-covered surfaces and stained wood were the two most common materials in each room, accounting for an average of 42% and 22% of total surface area, respectively, although the distribution of materials varied by room type. These findings have important implications for understanding the chemistry of indoor environments, as the available surface area for deposition, partitioning, and reactions is higher and more complex than assumed in simple models.
- Subjects :
- Spatial Analysis
Manufactured Materials
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Indoor air
Surface Properties
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Mineralogy
General Medicine
010501 environmental sciences
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
01 natural sciences
Standard deviation
Surface area
Volume (thermodynamics)
Air Pollution, Indoor
Housing
Environmental Chemistry
Humans
Deposition (chemistry)
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20507895
- Volume :
- 21
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Environmental science. Processesimpacts
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6fca502f363d7cc2d369a4bb8a7f3b82