title: Emissions from heated indoor dust.
abstract: Settled indoor dust was collected from a university building, and the fine fraction was heated in the temperature range of 50-250 degrees C. Emissions of compounds were analysed and identified in a system consisting of a thermal desorption unit coupled to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The heating took place in both an oxidative (air) and an inert (He) atmosphere. The results indicate that oxidation of adsorbed compounds occurred, as well as decomposition of the dust itself. The emission in air started somewhere between 150 and 200 degrees C, with aldehydes and ketones as the main compounds. When heated in the inert atmosphere, semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were emitted at temperatures above 150 degrees C. These compounds were not found in the air system, probably due to oxidation. Based on the obtained results we recommend that the temperature of hot surfaces in indoor environments should be kept below 150 degrees C to avoid oxidation of indoor dust and minimise the emissions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. ellen.k.pedersen@medisin.ntnu.no
authors.forename: Ellen Katrine
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Olav
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bjørseth
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Syversen
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mathiesen
mesh_terms: D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D004391:Dust; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006358:Hot Temperature; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D009930:Organic Chemicals