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Formation and emission of hydrogen chloride in indoor air
Author(s) -
Dawe Kathryn E. R.,
Furlani Teles C.,
Kowal Shawn F.,
Kahan Tara F.,
VandenBoer Trevor C.,
Young Cora J.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/ina.12509
Subject(s) - chlorine , bleach , hydrogen chloride , chemistry , chloride , environmental chemistry , mixing (physics) , hydrochloric acid , inorganic chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
To improve our understanding of chlorine chemistry indoors, reactive chlorine species such as hydrogen chloride ( HC l) must be analyzed using fast time‐response measurement techniques. Although well studied outdoors, sources of HC l indoors are unknown. In this study, mixing ratios of gaseous HC l were measured at 0.5 Hz in the indoor environment using a cavity ring‐down spectroscopy ( CRDS ) instrument. The CRDS measurement rate provides a major advance in observational capability compared to other established techniques. Measurements of HC l were performed during three types of household activities: (a) floor exposure to bleach, (b) chlorinated and nonchlorinated detergent use in household dishwashers, and (c) cooking events. Surface application of bleach resulted in a reproducible increase of 0.1 ppbv in the affected room. Emissions of HC l from automated dishwashers were observed only when chlorinated detergents were used, with additional HC l emitted during the drying cycle. Increased mixing ratios of HC l were also observed during meal preparation on an electric element stovetop. These observations of HC l derived from household activities indicate either direct emission or secondary production of HC l via chlorine atoms is possible. Calculations of photolysis rate constants of chlorine atom precursors provide evidence that photolysis may contribute to indoor HC l levels.