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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

C6-Green leaf volatiles trigger local and systemic VOC emissions in tomato.

In response to insect feeding, tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum) release elevated levels of volatile organic compounds; that is, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are released both locally and systemically with wounding while C(6) green leaf volatiles are released only from damaged leaves. With the exogenous application (100 nmol) of the C(6)-tomato-volatile (E)-2-hexenal, an increase in the release of local and systemic terpenes was observed, while an equimolar amount of methyl jasmonate triggered only local emissions of terpenes. Labeling studies with 13CO(2) showed that de novo synthesis was not required for monoterpene or sesquiterpene release immediately following chemical treatment or insect feeding. Comparative measurements were made between aldehyde doses applied to the plant and levels naturally released from leaves with insect damage.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Modeling VOCs adsorption onto activated carbon.

The activated carbon adsorption process is affected by the characteristics of adsorbent, adsorbate and environmental conditions. In this study, both adsorption and desorption processes are assumed to occur simultaneously and a numerical model was developed with a non-linear driving force in conjunction with the Langmuir model for predicting the overall adsorption process. The numerical model provides both adsorption and desorption rate constants and activation energies. The resultant equilibrium constants are of the same order of magnitude as reported by other studies. Results show that the model could well predict the adsorption isotherms and breakthrough curves under various conditions.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1999

Use of biomarkers in an indoor air study: lack of correlation between aromatic VOCs with respective urinary biomarkers.

The benzene and toluene levels inside of eight homes with attached garages were measured during July 1998 in Fairbanks, Alaska. A thermal desorption tube method and charcoal tube method were used to collect and analyze samples (thermal desorption tube method %RDS = 1.9 for n = 6; charcoal tube method %RDS = 6.5 for n = 4). Results for both methods were compared and showed indoor benzene levels ranging between 1.2 and 72 ppbv. The charcoal tube method usually gave lower results than the thermal desorption method. Nevertheless, the difference observed in benzene levels from each method was not significant as determined by application of the Wilcoxon t-test to these data. Using the thermal desorption method, the range of toluene found in homes was 0.1-111 ppbv. A correlation between toluene and benzene levels suggested the same point source. The benzene and toluene content of the indoor air and the number of small engines stored in the attached garage was also correlated. There was no correlation found between the urinary biomarker concentrations and the level of benzene or toluene measured inside the homes in the summer.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1999

Results of the reactant sand-fracking pilot test and implications for the in situ remediation of chlorinated VOCs and metals in deep and fractured bedrock aquifers.

Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs), such as the Waterloo Funnel and Gate System, first implemented at Canadian Forces Borden facility in 1992, are a passive remediation technology capable of controlling the migration of, and treating contaminated groundwater in situ. Most of the PRBs installed to date have been shallow installations created by backfilling sheet-pile shored excavations with iron filing reactive media. More recently continuous trenchers [R. Puls, Installation of permeable reactive barriers using continuous trenching equipment, Proceedings of the RTDF Permeable Barriers Work Group, Virginia Beach, VA, September 1997] and Caissons [J. Vogan, Caisson installation of a pilot scale, permeable reactive barrier in situ treatment zone at the Sommersworth Landfill, NH, Presented to the RTDF Permeable Barriers Work Group, Alexandria, VA, April 1996], and vertical fracturing emplacements [G. Hocking, Vertical hydraulic fracture emplacement of permeable reactive barriers, Progress Report delivered to the Permeable Reactive Barriers Workgroup of the Remedial Technology Development Forum, Beaverton, OR, April 1998] have been used to create reactive barriers in soil. None of the prior methods are capable of adequately addressing groundwater contamination in deep and fractured bedrock aquifers. The purpose of the RSF pilot study was to install reactive media into an impacted bedrock aquifer, and to evaluate the effectiveness of in situ treatment of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) and metals in that type of aquifer. Three discrete fractures were identified and treated and were subjected to testing before and after treatment. Between 300 and 1700 lb. of 1 mm diameter reactive proppants were injected into each zone to facilitate treatment. Monitoring data obtained from adjacent observation wells verified that fracking fluids reached at least 42 ft from the treatment well following hydrofracturing. The concentrations of many of the CVOCs decreased up to 98% based on the results of pre- and post-RSF treatment analyses. Consistent with other research, concentrations of CVOCs were noted to decrease including trichloroethene (TCE), tetrachloroethene (PCE), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA), 1, 1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA), and 1,1-dichloroethene (1,1-DCE) and increases were noted in concentrations of cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-1,2-DCE) and chloroform suggesting that the rate of transformation of the parent compounds to these daughter products is higher than the rate of destruction of the daughter products. The RSF pilot study demonstrated that: (1) zero valent iron foam proppants have the physical and chemical properties necessary to effectively treat CVOCs and metals in groundwater when inserted under high pressures into fractured bedrock. (2) Iron foam reactive media can be placed in bedrock using high pressure hydraulic fracturing equipment and polysaccharide viscosifiers. (3) The extent of the treatment can be monitored in situ using tracers and pressure transducers. (4) Well capacity is increased by improving hydraulic conductivity through hydraulic fracturing and proppant injection. The approximate cost of all of the effort expended in the pilot study was about US$200,000. Full-scale implementations are projected to cost between US$100,000 and US$1,000,000 and would depend on site specific conditions such as the extent and level of impacted groundwater requiring treatment. This technology can potentially be implemented to create treatment zones for the passive treatment of CVOC and metal impacted groundwater in fractured rock aquifers offering a cost-effective alternative to a pump and treat forever scenario.

California↗
PubMed2000

Effect of groundwater flow on remediation of dissolved-phase VOC contamination using air sparging.

This paper presents two-dimensional laboratory experiments performed to study how groundwater flow may affect the injected air zone of influence and remedial performance, and how injected air may alter subsurface groundwater flow and contaminant migration during in situ air sparging. Tests were performed by subjecting uniform sand profiles contaminated with dissolved-phase benzene to a hydraulic gradient and two different air flow rates. The results of the tests were compared to a test subjected to a similar air flow rate but a static groundwater condition. The test results revealed that the size and shape of the zone of influence were negligibly affected by groundwater flow, and as a result, similar rates of contaminant removal were realized within the zone of influence with and without groundwater flow. The air flow, however, reduced the hydraulic conductivity within the zone of influence, reducing groundwater flow and subsequent downgradient contaminant migration. The use of a higher air flow rate further reduced the hydraulic conductivity and decreased groundwater flow and contaminant migration. Overall, this study demonstrated that air sparging may be effectively implemented to intercept and treat a migrating contaminant plume.

Air↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Validated QSAR prediction of OH tropospheric degradation of VOCs: splitting into training-test sets and consensus modeling.

The rate constant for hydroxyl radical tropospheric degradation of 460 heterogeneous organic compounds is predicted by QSAR modeling. The applied Multiple Linear Regression is based on a variety of theoretical molecular descriptors, selected by the Genetic Algorithms-Variable Subset Selection (GA-VSS) procedure. The models were validated for predictivity by both internal and external validation. For the external validation two splitting approaches, D-optimal Experimental Design and Kohonen Artificial Neural Networks (K-ANN), were applied to the original data set to compare the two methodologies. We emphasize that external validation is the only way to establish a reliable QSAR model for predictive purposes. Predicted data by consensus modeling from different models are also proposed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

High-speed analysis of complex indoor VOC mixtures by vacuum-outlet GC with air carrier gas and programmable retention.

A pressure-tunable, series-coupled column ensemble was used with atmospheric pressure air as carrier gas for the vacuum-outlet GC analysis of 42 volatile and semivolatile organic compounds commonly encountered as indoor air pollutants. Separation strategies applicable to a field-portable instrument that will employ a dual-stage preconcentrator and a microsensor array as the detector were developed, where coelution of certain analytes can be tolerated. The capillary column ensemble consists of a 4.5-m segment of nonpolar dimethyl polysiloxane followed by a 7.5-m segment of polar trifluoropropylmethyl polysiloxane. Good long-term thermal stability of the column ensemble was observed for continuous operation in air at temperatures up to 210 degrees C. A computer-driven pressure controller at the column junction point is used to adjust vapor retention for specified sets of target compounds. The compounds were divided into two groups according to retention order, and high-speed analysis conditions were determined for the two groups individually as well as for the entire mixture. The earlier eluting group of 21 compounds was analyzed isothermally at 30 degrees C in about 160 s using a single, on-the-fly junction-point pressure change during the separation. The later eluting group of 21 compounds was analyzed in about 200 s with temperature programming and a constant (tuned) junction-point pressure. The entire mixture was analyzed in about 400 s using a two-step temperature program and a three-step pressure program, with minimal overlap in eluting peaks. Separations are adequate for analysis by a sensor array capable of discriminating among small groups of coeluting vapors on the basis of their response patterns.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2001

Monitoring biodegradation of VOCs using high-speed gas chromatography with a dual-point sampling system.

A new sampling system has been designed and interfaced with high-speed gas chromatography (HSGC) to monitor and assess the performance of a trickle-bed bioreactor designed for the removal of volatile organic compounds from air. A portion of a gas stream containing styrene and toluene was sampled both before and after passing through the bioreactor by means of a dual-loop sampling system. With a frequency of as high as 2 per minute, treated and untreated samples were alternately transferred on-line to the cryofocusing injection system of a HSGC and analyzed. This analytical system generated data with less than 2% relative standard deviations for standard samples, and residual contamination of subsequent analyses from a highly concentrated sample (2,000 microg/L) was not observed. A bench-scale bioreactor with a fiber mat support was used in these studies, resulting in residence times for analytes in the bioreactor of as little as 1 s. Rapid monitoring of this system detected subtle changes in the concentration of analytes with 30 s temporal resolution. Measurements showed a statistically significant increase in the removal of styrene from 22% to 27% when water was sprayed over the immobilized bacteria for 30 min. Overall, the bioreactor removed styrene from the air stream with a specific elimination capacity of 1,700 g of styrene (m3 of biocatalyst)-1 h(-1) at a space velocity of 3,400 h(-1).

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2003

Measurement and modeling of single- and multi-component adsorption equilibria of VOC on high-silica zeolites.

From pure and binary gas adsorption equilibria measurements carried out using a volumetric method for three volatile organic compounds (methyl ethyl ketone, toluene (TOL), and 1,4-dioxane) on two high-silica zeolites, desaluminated faujasite Y (Fau Y) and ZSM-5 (Sil Z), co-adsorption was investigated and modeled. Apart from steric exclusion taking place with TOL-containing mixtures on Sil Z, micropore filling was similar to distillation since the component with the lower volatility adsorbed preferentially. At low coverage, chemisorption on specific sites happened in favor of polar or major compound, whereas at saturation the adsorbent was selective for the minor compound. Second, a quantitative prediction of binary equilibria was performed using the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST), examining the influence of pure component adsorption fitting model. The efficiency of correlations when extending AST to real mixture behavior was satisfactory in most cases. For engineering purposes, Fau Y is to be considered as a high-adsorption capacity adsorbent, whose selectivity can be described qualitatively by the distillation analogy and predicted quantitatively with the IAST in case of quasi-ideal mixtures.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2005

Spectroscopic signatures of VOC physisorption on microporous solids. Application for trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene adsorption on MFI zeolites.

This paper presents an experimental infrared spectroscopic study of the physisorption of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) on a self-supported high silica ZSM5 zeolite. The evolution of the shape, area, and location of vibration bands of both the adsorbent and the adsorbate is analyzed with respect to the number of sorbed molecules. The state of the adsorbed phase is characterized upon adsorption by comparing the location of the investigated vibration bands with the location of the corresponding vibration bands of the chloroalkenes in gaseous, liquid, and solid phases. The singular behavior of PCE with respect to TCE is seen from the modification of vibration bands of both the adsorbed phase and the adsorbent upon loading. The adsorption process proceeds by stages for PCE, whereas it appears continuous for TCE. Particular micropore loadings are evidenced at 4 and 6.5 molec.uc(-1) for PCE and at 6 molec.uc(-1) for TCE, in agreement with previous macroscopic and microscopic data. In addition, the presence of admolecules induces at least one emerging vibration band located at around 1715 cm(-1), mainly due to a contribution of the microporous surface of the adsorbent.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Database system, AFoDas/AVODAS, on indoor air organic compounds in Japan. Automated Formaldehyde Data Acquisition System. Automated VOC Data Acquisition System.

Building designers, engineers and occupants often need to estimate the organic compounds' levels in buildings. In order to satisfy the requirement, a web-based database, named AFoDAS/AVODAS database system is developed. The database consists of six databases for managing indoor air organic compounds' levels and building's environmental conditions. The database includes the monitoring results of about 1422 homes. The database allows users to (1) input their monitoring results to the database; (2) browse, search and query the database by a single or combinations of criteria for various query parameters such as building category, ventilation system, environment category, and compound names; and (3) estimate the organic compounds' levels resulting from various buildings and environmental conditions. This paper describes the functionality, database structure and major features of the user interface system of the database.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2000

The eye irritation and odor potencies of four terpenes which are major constituents of the emissions of VOCs from Nordic soft woods.

Eye goggles were used to estimate human thresholds for sensory eye irritation from four monoterpenes: (+)3-carene, (-)limonene and (+)alpha-pinene and (rac)alpha-terpineol all known as air pollutants emitted from wood. Only a ranking of the irritation thresholds relative to that of n-butanol is given. The measurements showed that the thresholds for eye irritation of the terpenes ranged from subthreshold to below 1,250 mg/m3. It appears that the irritation of 3-carene and limonene in contrast to the expectations was of the same size as or less than that of n-butanol. Too few subjects reported eye-irritation for alpha-pinene and alpha-terpineol to allow estimates of thresholds of these compounds which therefore have much less irritative potency than n-butanol, 3-carene, and limonene. The measurements of one terpene alcohol do not support the hypothesis that monoterpene alcohols, would have lower eye irritation threshold than monoterpene hydrocarbons. The sequence from strongest odorant to weakest was alpha-terpineol, 3-carene, n-butanol, limonene and alpha-pinene. In conclusion, the tested terpenes can probably be ruled out as cause of acute eye irritation indoors. The measured odor thresholds did not deviate from the few values reported in the literature.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2003

Flame retardants in the indoor environment -- Part II: release of VOCs (triethylphosphate and halogenated degradation products) from polyurethane.

Organophosphate esters, halogenated and non-halogenated, are frequently used for fire protection of building materials. With regard to toxicological profiles it is desired to avoid human exposure in the indoor environment. Moreover, some hazardous volatile organic compounds detected in indoor air are directly linked to the utilization of flame retardants. In this study, different polyurethane (PUR) products for building and indoor use treated with organophosphate flame retardants were tested in 1 m(3) emission test chambers. Emissions of flame retardants and degradation products were measured under living conditions. A PUR hard foam sample showed area-specific emission rates >100 microg/m(2) h for the compound triethylphosphate. During the tests several chlorinated degradation products of organophophorous flame retardants could be identified in the chamber air.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2002

Biological monitoring of midwives' exposure to N(2)O using the Bio-VOC breath sampler.

The use of exhaled breath as a biological monitoring tool is still not widely used. Although there are now commercially available kits, there are limited data on biological guidance values for all but a few substances for breath monitoring. The study investigated the possibility of using an indirect breath sampler to measure the levels of nitrous oxide in the exhaled breath of midwives at a midpoint during their shift. Levels of nitrous oxide in the exhaled breath were measured at (0-727 ppm) with a mean level of 64 ppm. The correlation between the established personal environmental monitoring and exhaled breath monitoring was generally poor as was the correlation between duration of nitrous oxide exposure and levels in the exhaled breath. Clearly the use of exhaled breath as a tool for biological monitoring is more appropriate than other invasive procedures. The breath sampler used has been a readily acceptable tool for occupational hygiene monitoring in a busy hospital ward.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Low-flow active and passive sampling of VOCs using thermal desorption tubes: theory and application at an offset printing facility.

While air sampling techniques using adsorbent-based collection, thermal desorption and chromatographic analysis have found a niche in ambient air sampling, occupational applications have been more limited. This paper evaluates the use of thermal desorption techniques for low flow active and passive sampling configurations which allow conveniently long duration sampling in occupational settings and other high concentration environments. The use of an orifice enables flows as low as 0.5 ml min(-1) and sampling periods up to several days without significant biases. A model is used to predict sampling rates of a passive sampler encompassing an orifice, a void space, glass wool, and the adsorbent. Laboratory and field tests conducted at a commercial offset printing facility, which contained a variety of volatile organic compounds (primarily aromatic but also a few chlorinated and terpene compounds at levels from 1 to 67,000 microg m(-3)), are used to evaluate the approach. Tenax GR and Carbosieve SIII, both singly and together, were employed as adsorbents. Side-by-side tests comparing high flow, low flow and passive samplers show excellent agreement and high linearity (r = 0.95) for concentrations spanning nearly five orders of magnitude. Active samplers were tested at flows as low as 0.5 ml min(-1), compared to typical flows up to 40 ml min(-1). Passive samplers demonstrated a linear range and agreement with predictions for adsorbate loadings from approximately 1 ng to nearly 10 microg. Using a chemical mass balance receptor model, concentrations in the facility were apportioned to solvents, inks and other indoor and outdoor sources. Overall, the use of low flow active and passive sampling approaches employing thermal desorption techniques provides good performance and tremendous flexibility that facilitates use in many applications, including workplace settings.

Adsorption↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health evaluation of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from wood and wood-based materials.

In this study, the authors describe a method for evaluation of material emissions. The study was based on chemical analysis of emissions from 23 materials representing solid wood and wood-based materials commonly used in furniture, interior furnishings, and building products in Denmark in the 1990s. The authors used the emission chamber testing method to examine the selected materials with a qualitative screening and quantitative determination of volatile organic compounds. The authors evaluated the toxicological effects of all substances identified with chamber testing. Lowest concentration of interest and standard room concentrations were assessed, and the authors calculated an S-value for each wood and wood-based material. The authors identified 144 different chemical substances with the screening analyses, and a total of 84 individual substances were quantified with chamber measurements. The irritative effects dominated at low exposure levels; therefore, the lowest concentration of interest and the S-value were based predominantly on these effects. The S-values were very low for solid ash, oak, and beech. For solid spruce and pine, the determining substances for size of the S-value were delta3-carene, alpha-pinene, and limonene. For the surface-treated wood materials, the S-value reflected the emitted substances from the surface treatment.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗