Indoor environment quality is crucial for human health as more people are starting to spend the majority of their time indoors. One of the key factors jeopardising indoor environment quality and human health is chemical pollution. Compared to the outdoor environment, there are far more immediate sources emitting a complex suite of dangerous chemicals indoors because of the confined spaces. A main group of chemicals are semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), including for example flame retardants, plastic additives, and pesticides. The overarching goal of this project is to develop a portfolio of sorbent materials for new air cleaner designs that can effectively remove SVOCs from indoor air.
The specific aims of this project are to:
- prioritise SVOCs to be targeted based on their prevalence, concentration levels, and potential hazards,
- evaluate the effectiveness of currently available air cleaners in the market for removing SVOCs,
- test different sorbents and sorbent combinations for their efficiency in removing SVOCs and develop a sorbent combination with the best removal performance,
- evaluate the sorbent combination for its effectiveness in removing SVOCs from indoor air in real-world applications.
