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Gas‐Phase Mass Transfer Model for Predicting Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission Rates from Indoor Pollutant Sources
Author(s) -
Sparks L. E.,
Tichenor B. A.,
Chang J.,
Guo Z.
Publication year - 1996
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/j.1600-0668.1996.t01-3-00004.x
Subject(s) - mass transfer , environmental science , pollutant , empirical modelling , mass transfer coefficient , chemistry , mechanics , simulation , computer science , physics , organic chemistry
Analysis of the impact of sources on indoor pollutant concentrations and occupant exposure to indoor pollutants requires knowledge of the emission rates from the sources. Emission rates are often determined by chamber testing and the data from the chamber test are fitted to an empirical model. While the empirical models are useful, they do not provide information necessary to scale the chamber data to buildings nor do they provide information necessary to understand the processes controlling emissions. A mass transfer model for gas‐phase‐limited mass transfer is developed and described in this paper. Examples of sources with gas‐phase‐limited emissions are moth cakes, floor wax, stain, and varnish. The mass transfer model expresses the emission rate in terms of a mass transfer coefficient and a driving force. The mass transfer coefficient can be predicted from correlations of the Nusselt number and the Reynolds number. The experiments and data analysis used to develop the correlation are described in the paper. Experiments to verify the assumptions used to describe the driving force are also described. Suggestions for using data from existing empirical emission models to determine parameters for the mass transfer model are provided. The mass transfer model provides a significantly better fit to data from an indoor air quality test house than does the empirical first order decay model.