Warburton, Thomas, Grange, Stuart K., Hopkins, James R. et al. (6 more authors) (2023) The impact of plug-in fragrance diffusers on residential indoor VOC concentrations. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts. ISSN 2050-7895
Abstract
Plug-in fragrance diffusers are one of myriad volatile organic compound-containing consumer products that are commonly found in homes. The perturbing effects of using a commercial diffuser indoors were evaluated using a study group of 60 homes in Ashford, UK. Air samples were taken over 3 day periods with the diffuser switched on and in a parallel set of control homes where it was off. At least four measurements were taken in each home using vacuum-release into 6 L silica-coated canisters and with >40 VOCs quantified using gas chromatography with FID and MS (GC-FID-QMS). Occupants self-reported their use of other VOC-containing products. The variability between homes was very high with the 72 hour sum of all measured VOCs ranging between 30 and >5000 μg m−3, dominated by n/i-butane, propane, and ethanol. For those homes in the lowest quartile of air exchange rate (identified using CO2 and TVOC sensors as proxies) the use of a diffuser led to a statistically significant increase (p-value < 0.02) in the summed concentration of detectable fragrance VOCs and some individual species, e.g. alpha pinene rising from a median of 9 μg m−3 to 15 μg m−3 (p-value < 0.02). The observed increments were broadly in line with model-calculated estimates based on fragrance weight loss, room sizes and air exchange rates.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Funding Information: Funding for this research was provided by Givaudan UK Ltd and Bath & Body Works Inc. ACL, JRH and SJA receive support from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science National Capability research programme, via funding provided by the Natural Environment Research Council. TW's PhD studentship is part supported by UKRI grant number NE/W002256/1. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Chemistry (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 24 Mar 2023 11:30 |
Last Modified: | 23 Oct 2024 00:18 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1039/d2em00444e |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1039/d2em00444e |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:197693 |
Download
Filename: d2em00444e.pdf
Description: The impact of plug-in fragrance diffusers on residential indoor VOC concentrations
Licence: CC-BY 2.5