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Published July 4, 2022 | Version 1
Journal article Open

Nanosized titanium dioxide particle emission potential from a commercial indoor air purifier photocatalytic surface: A case study

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ARCHE Consulting, Liefkensstraat 35D, B-9032 Wondelgem, Belgium
  • 2. ISAC-CRN, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy, Via Gobetti, 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
  • 3. Witek srl, Via Siena 47, 50142 Firenze, 50142, Italy
  • 4. Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Cá Foscari University, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venice, Italy
  • 5. ISTEC-CNR, Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, National Research Council, Via Granarolo 64, 48018 Faenza, Italy

Description

Background: Photocatalytic air purifiers based on nano-titanium dioxide (TiO 2) visible light activation provide an efficient solution for removing and degrading contaminants in air. The potential detachment of TiO 2 particles from the air purifier to indoor air could cause a safety concern. A TiO 2 release potential was measured for one commercially available photocatalytic air purifier "Gearbox Wivactive" to ensure a successful implementation of the photocatalytic air purifying technology.

Methods: In this study, the TiO 2 release was studied under laboratory-simulated conditions from a  Gearbox Wivactive consisting of ceramic honeycombs coated with photocatalytic nitrogen doped TiO 2 particles. The TiO 2 particle release factor was measured in scalable units according to the photoactive surface area and volume flow (TiO 2-ng/m 2×m 3). The impact of  Gearbox Wivactive on indoor concentration level under reasonable worst-case conditions was predicted by using the release factor and a well-mixed indoor aerosol model.

Results: The instrumentation and experimental setup was not sufficiently sensitive to quantify the emissions from the photoactive surfaces. The upper limit for TiO 2 mass release was <185×10 -3 TiO 2-ng/m 2×m 3. Under realistic conditions the TiO 2 concentration level in a 20 m 3 room ventilated at rate of 0.5 1/h and containing two Gearbox Wivactive units resulted <20×10 -3 TiO 2-ng/m 3.

Conclusions: The release potential was quantified for a photocatalytic surface in generalized units that can be used to calculate the emission potential for different photocatalytic surfaces used in various operational conditions. This study shows that the TiO 2 nanoparticle release potential was low in this case and the release does not cause relevant exposure as compared to proposed occupational exposure limit values for nanosized TiO 2. The TiO 2 release risk was adequately controlled under reasonable worst-case operational conditions.

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Additional details

Cites
10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.08.006 (DOI)
10.1016/j.apcata.2015.02.013 (DOI)
10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.07.016 (DOI)
10.1038/s41467-021-22839-0 (DOI)
10.1080/15459624.2016.1213392 (DOI)
10.1016/j.impact.2017.02.001 (DOI)
10.3390/ma15020402 (DOI)
10.1080/17435390.2016.1262920 (DOI)
10.3390/catal11070834 (DOI)
10.3390/photochem1030024 (DOI)
10.1016/j.apcbee.2013.05.032 (DOI)
10.1039/C9EN00891H (DOI)

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