Ann. occup. Hyg., Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 279-286, 2003
© 2003 British Occupational Hygiene Society
Published by Oxford University Press
Overall Mass Transfer Coefficient for Pollutant Emissions from Small Water Pools under Simulated Indoor Environmental Conditions
1 US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Mail Code E305-03, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; 2 ARCADIS Geraghty & Miller Inc., PO Box 13109, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
Received 5 August 2002; in final form 20 December 2002
Small chamber tests were conducted to experimentally determine the overall mass transfer coefficient for pollutant emissions from still aqueous solutions under simulated indoor (residential or occupational) environmental conditions. The tests covered six organic compounds with a Henry’s constant range from 3.33 x 10–7 to 3.67 x 10–3 (atm m3/mol). The estimated overall liquid phase mass transfer coefficients for still solutions varied from 1.8 x 10–6 to 5.7 x 10–3 m/h; the estimated liquid phase mass transfer coefficients were 9.7 x 10–3 m/h for the reference compound (oxygen) and 5.00 x 10–3 to 6.04 x 10–3 m/h for the test compounds. An empirical model is proposed to estimate the overall mass transfer coefficient, which can be used to predict pollutant emissions from still aqueous solutions (e.g. pools and puddles) in indoor environments.
Keywords: aqueous solution; emission; indoor environment; mass transfer coefficient; water