An experimental investigation about the levels of PM2.5 and formaldehyde pollutants inside an office

Abstract

PM2.5 and formaldehyde are two main indoor pollutants potentially threatening the health of human beings. In this paper, the concentrations of PM2.5 and formaldehyde inside an office were measured under different conditions. The effects of temperature on the formaldehyde originating from the decoration materials, including flooring, gypsum powder, joint mixture and corestock, were also assessed. The results show that window ventilation can produce the same PM2.5 purification as an air cleaner. The concentration of formaldehyde released from the decoration materials is highly correlated to the indoor temperature, but it is not significantly influenced by humidity. In particular, the percentage of formaldehyde grows approximately linearly with the increase in the heating temperature. The importance of the different sources responsible for the release of formaldehyde is as follows: joint mixture, gypsum powder, corestock and flooring. The concentration of released formaldehyde from the four decoration materials was found to vary from 0.08 ppm to 0.4 ppm when the heating temperature was increased from 16°C to 30°C.