Characterization of time- and size-dependent particle emissions and decay from cooking oil fumes in residence: Impacts of various intervention measures

The dynamic characteristics of cooking-related particle size distributions in real-world settings are not fully understood. Through a real-world campaign in a naturally-ventilated apartment in the northwest US, this study investigates the temporal profiles of size-resolved particle number concentrations (PNCs) ranging from 0.3 to 10 mu m from frying cooking activities. The cooking scenarios included various combinations of window ventilation, venting range hood (VRH) use, and portable air cleaner (PAC) utilization. Following a standardized pan-frying protocol throughout seven scenarios, real-time PNCs of 16-size bins were measured in the kitchen. The PNCs were empirically compared among size bins, periods, and scenarios. The most abundant size ranges of cooking-related particles were 0.3-0.579 mu m in number (45%-71% of the total) and 2.685-5.182 mu m in mass (48%-57% of the total). Compared with the scenario without any cooking-fume mitigating measures, keeping the kitchen windows open reduced the mean PNCs during and within 1-h after cooking for PM0.3-2.5, PM2.5-10, and PM0.3-10 by 78%, 92%, and 79%, respectively. By contrast, utilizing a VRH during cooking reduced the corresponding levels by 21%, 69%, and 25%, respectively. Combined with running the VRH, using a PAC in the kitchen led to additional reductions of 84%, 88%, and 84%, respectively. Additionally, the removal efficiencies of the three strategies generally increased with particle sizes.

Automated summary

This study investigates the temporal profiles of particle number concentrations (PNCs) ranging from 0.3 to 10 μm during frying cooking activities in a naturally-ventilated apartment. The results show that opening the kitchen windows can significantly reduce the concentrations of particles in the size ranges of 0.3-2.5 μm, 2.5-10 μm, and 0.3-10 μm during and within 1 hour after cooking. The use of a venting range hood (VRH) can partially reduce the particle concentrations, and combining it with a portable air cleaner (PAC) further reduces the concentrations.