Full-scale chamber investigation and simulation of air freshener emissions in the presence of ozone

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from one electrical plug-in type of pine-scented air freshener and their reactions with O-3 were investigated in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency indoor air research large chamber facility. Ozone was generated from a device marketed as an ozone generator air cleaner. Ozone and oxides of nitrogen concentrations and chamber conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and air exchange rate were controlled and/or monitored. VOC emissions and some of the reaction products were identified and quantified. Source emission models were developed to predict the time/concentration profiles of the major VOCs (limonene, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, 3-carene, camphene, benzyl propionate, benzyl alcohol, bornyl acetate, isobornyl acetate, and benzaldehyde) emitted by the air freshener. Gas-phase reactions of VOCs from the air freshener with O-3 were simulated by a photochemical kinetics simulation system using VOC reaction mechanisms and rate constants adopted from the literature. The concentration-time predictions were in good agreement with the data for O-3 and VOCs emitted from the air freshener and with some of the primary reaction products. Systematic differences between the predictions and the experimental results were found for some species. Poor understanding of secondary reactions and heterogeneous chemistry in the chamber is the likely cause of these differences. The method has the potential to provide data to predict the impact of O-3/VOC interactions on indoor air quality.