Characterization of particulate matter from heating and cooling several edible oils

Abstract

Cooking fumes produced by oils at high temperatures release large amounts of fine particulate matter (PM). Exposure to cooking fumes increases the risk of many diseases. A chamber study investigated particle emission and decay characteristics originating from six types of edible oil (olive oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil, corn oil and sunflower seed oil). The experiment determined the particle number concentration and particle size distribution of PM with diameters of 0.3 μm and less, 0.3–0.5 μm and 0.5–1.0 μm (PM0.3, PM0.3-0.5 and PM0.5-1.0, respectively) during the heating and cooling of the edible oils. The effects of heating power, indoor relative humidity and ventilation conditions on the corresponding particle emission and decay characteristics of olive oil and sunflower seed oil were discussed. Since the deposition and coagulation of the particles occur simultaneously in the experimental chamber, the deposition and coagulation rates of the cooling process were calculated. Two methods were compared to obtain an accurate coagulation rate.