Abstract
Burning incense indoors is a common behavior in Southeast Asia. In this investigation, needle trap samplers (NTS), a novel, green analytical technology is used for sampling gaseous combustion by-products from sandalwood incense coils. To extract indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs), two NTS are prepared, one using 60–80 mesh and the other using 100–120 mesh divinylbenzene (DVB) particles packed in 22-gauge stainless steel needles. This work compares extraction efficiency of an NTS and that of a commercially available 100 μm polydimethylsiloxane solid phase microextration (PDMS-SPME) fiber sampler. Experimental results indicated that the 100–120 mesh DVB-NTS performed best among all samplers during a 1 h sampling period. The main extracted compounds were toluene, ethylbenzene, propane, chloromethane, 1,3-butadiene, methanol and dichloromethane. The potential use of small badge-sized or pen-sized NTS for the indoor atmosphere and occupational hygiene applications is addressed.
Highlights
In Southeast Asia, incense sticks are burned to worship ancestors and pray to deities
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in their particulate phase generated from burning incense, were further analyzed by Yang et al using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) [3]
Equation (1) is valid only when the analyte extracted onto a sorbent is a small fraction of the equilibrium amount for the lowest concentration in the sample, which can be assessed based on the values of relative standard deviation (RSD) of duplicate or triplicate measurements
Summary
In Southeast Asia, incense sticks are burned to worship ancestors and pray to deities. According to the recent studies in Taiwan and China, smoke from incense combustion in temples contains many particles and gaseous pollutants [1]. Wang et al conducted field investigations of target air pollutants at two of the most famous temples in Hong Kong [2]. The target air pollutants were particulate matters (PM2.5 and PM10), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbonyl compounds, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, methane, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), organic carbon, elemental carbon (EC), and inorganic ions (Cl−, NO3−, SO42−, Na+, NH4+, and K+). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in their particulate phase generated from burning incense, were further analyzed by Yang et al using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) [3]. Tested Taiwanese incenses yield emission factors in the range of 4.19–82.16 mg/g and 1.20–9.50 μg/g, respectively, for total PM and PAHs
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