Abstract
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) constitutes an important class of air pollutants, and benzene is one of the main contaminants of indoor air pollution. Among the methods for the treatment of environments with a high VOCs concentration is the photocatalytic oxidation by TiO2 (anatase) ceramic coated surfaces. The effectiveness of VOCs photodegradation studies using active ceramic tiles made in laboratory is well reported in the literature. However, this has not been reported using commercial tiles, although active ceramics are sold for such a function. In this context, this study proposed the assessment of commercial active ceramic tiles capacity in the photocatalytic degradation of benzene in indoor air. The development of this work arose from two questions: a) if the commercial active ceramic tiles are efficient in the VOCs degradation as the manufacturers claim; b) if they are able to degrade VOCs in indoor building environments. Experiments were conducted in laboratory’s scale, using an adapted simulation chamber. The volatilized benzene entered in contact with the commercial ceramic tile under fluorescent light and ultraviolet (UV) light of 365 nm. Samples of the chamber internal air were collected by adsorption on polydimethylsiloxane fibres in headspace technique (SPME-HS). The evaluation of the benzene degradation occurred by gas chromatography analysis with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The characterization of commercial active ceramic samples occurred by techniques of X-Ray Diffraction Powder (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS). Results showed that, under the experimental conditions, the commercial active ceramic tile was not capable of the benzene photocatalytic oxidation. The ceramic characterization detected very low quantity of TiO2 on ceramic samples, being this fact attributed as the main responsible for the ceramic photocatalytic inactiveness.
Highlights
The air pollution and its effects on human health have become a great concern, and the focus of numerous discussions and scientific studies
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are in higher concentration in indoor air than the outdoor (Mirzaei, Leonardi, & Neri, 2016), and the exposure to these substances may lead to human neurological changes and cancer development (Schirmer, Pian, Szymanski, & Gauer, 2011)
The formulated hypothesis that the commercial active ceramic tiles are capable to the benzene degradation was evaluated
Summary
The air pollution and its effects on human health have become a great concern, and the focus of numerous discussions and scientific studies (van der Zee, Fischer, & Hoek, 2016; Zhang & Wang, 2010). Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are considered the most dangerous. It is imperative the air treatment to minimize the pollution, and the adverse effects on the human health and life quality. This exposure is favoured since most humans spend long periods indoors, such as in commercial and residential buildings (Zhang & Wang, 2010). The solution for this issue is addressed to the indoor pollution prevention, pollutants dilution by ventilation, or indoor air cleaning jsd.ccsenet.org
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