Odour assessment as a necessary complement to chemical evaluation of building products

Evaluation of emissions from building products is mainly focused on comparison betweenexposition concentrations of identified individual organic compounds and health criteria. Noadequate integrated criterion is available for interaction and mixture effects. Besides,everyone performs daily evaluation of perceived air quality. Human beings through theirsenses, for example, olfaction and chemesthesis, are able to achieve a synthetic response to aglobal mixture of compounds.

An interaction model for odour intensity

A laboratory study has been carried out to investigate the exposure response relationshipsbetween perceived air quality (PAQ) and concentration of pollutants. The objective was todevelop an interaction model for odour intensity, which allows predicting the perception of acombination of odours on base of the data for the single pollution sources. In the experiments10-12 persons assessed the PAQ in decipolB directly. Three different materials served aspollution sources.

Ultrafine and fine particles, VOC and odour emissions from dusty air filters

Fine particles (4 -700 nm), odour and VOC emissions before and after the used supply airfilters were studied in a ventilation unit. The pre-filter (G3) did not collect fine particles at thetest conditions, but acted as a source of particles 50-300 nm in size. The F7 fine filter, locatedafter the pre-filter, collected quite effectively even the finest particles. Sensory evaluationshowed that intensity of odour was highest after the F7 fine filter.

The application of semiconductor-based odour sensors capable of measuring and evaluating indoor air quality

Now believed to be responsible for anaphylaxis to chemical substances, concentrations of formaldehyde and VOCs emitted by interior finish materials and furniture, is very low in residential spaces. To accurately measure these concentrations, it is necessary to concentrate the air sample during sampling and to employ high-precision analysers such as a GC analyzer to obtain the results. Since these complicated sampling and analytical operations require a high level of expertise, the development of an on-the-spot precise measuring instrument has long been awaited.

Cuisines professionnelles - Soigner la détermination du débit d'air extrait Professionnal kitchen - To determine exhaust ventilation rate

The aim of ventilation for commercial kitchens is capturing fumes and odours, providing fire protection measures and insuring comfort. But the technologies concerning extraction and introduction of fresh air are not numerous.In this article, the author explains how difficult are the dimensioning of the equipment and the calculation of the airflow to extract.The author also refers to guide and regulations related to commercial kitchens.

Influence of temperature and humidity on the perception of odours Einfluss von temperatur und Feuchte auf die Wahrnehmung von Geruchsstoffen

Experiments were operated to estimate the influence of temperature and humidity on the perception of odours in the air by trained and untrained persons .

Ventilation for odour control

The author gives practical advices in the design of local exhaust ventilation system (mainly hoods) to capture the contaminant and general ventilation systems to dilute the offending chemical contaminant to acceptable effects. The effect on local environment is studied too.

The influence of different ventilation and chicken farming systems on the ammonia and odour emission stream

Emissions due to chicken farming should be minimised because they increase the greenhouse effect on the one hand and odours lead to annoyance. This paper sums up the investigations conducted in various chicken houses to analyse the effect of drying the chicken manure. The emissions streams were measured in different sites with tracer gas (SF6 or Krypton 85). Thanks to suitable ventilation systems the manure can be dried and thus ammonia and odour emissions streams can be purposefully reduced.

Air purification by photocatalysis : a new system of VOC degradation and odour removal

This article describes a new system developed and patented by a Belgian firm for air purification, using photocatalysis (UVA radiation + titania dioxide) for VOC and odour removal. Results from degradation tests are presented.

Sensory detection of VOCs singly and in mixtures: odor and sensory irritation

To increase our understanding of the olfactory and trigeminal (i.e., sensory irritation) impact of chemical mixtures we have studied the binary mixture butyl acetate/toluene. First, we measured complete concentration-response (i.e., psychometric) functions for the odor, nasal pungency, and eye irritation detectability of the single chemicals. Second, we selected fixed detectability levels between chance (p=0.0) and perfect (p=1.0) detection (e.g., p=0.6).

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