Air quality in offices, impact of ventilation rate, ozone and limonene

The objective of this study has been to clarify to what extent ozone (O3) and O3 /limonene in interaction with surface materials has an impact on the indoor air quality in typical low-polluting offices at realistic outdoor air change rates. Three similar offices furnished with the same materials and ventilated with charcoal filtered outdoor air were used in the study. Eight environmental conditions with different realistic combinations of air change rate, O3 and limonene levels were studied. Changes of environmental conditions were performed seven days before the first chemical sampling was performed at set conditions. Decreasing the air change rate from 1.0 to 0.3 h-1 increased the levels of volatile organic compounds in the indoor air. The presence of ozone affected the level and fraction of aldehydes proposing chemical transformations. Adding new materials to the offices at a low air change rate of 0.3 h-1 demonstrated a variable effect depending on the specific air quality in the room. Normal concentration of O3 in indoor environment contributes to chemical transformations even in low-polluted offices.