Indoor air pollution due to emissions from unvented gas-fired space heaters

Conference · Fri Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6227529

Traynor, G W; Girman, J R; Allen, J R; Apte, M G; Carruthers, A R; dillworth, J F; Martin, V M

Operation of an unvented combustion appliance indoors can elevate pollutant concentrations. Under laboratory conditions, we determined the oxygen consumption rates and the pollutant emission rates of CO, CO/sup 2/, NO, NO/sub 2/, HCHO and submicron particles emitted from eight unvented gas-fired space heaters operated with well adjusted air shutters at partial and full input in a 27-m/sup 3/ chamber. Emission rates were also determined for some heaters operating under poorly tuned conditions. Four of the eight heaters were subsequently tested in a 240-m/sup 3/ research house with 0.36 to 1.14 air changes per hour. Based on measurements near steady-state, we projected steady-state pollutant and oxygen levels: 1,930 to 11,100 ppM for CO/sub 2/, 1.0 to 26 ppM for CO (under well-tuned conditions), 0.40 to 1.46 ppM for NO/sub 2/, and 19.1 to 20.7% for O/sub 2/. Concentrations of CO/sub 2/, CO, and NO/sub 2/ were sometimes observed to be above their outdoor or occupational guidelines. Analysis showed that CO, NO, and NO/sub 2/ emission rates can vary with time and that while short-term emission rates derived from laboratory tests were consistent with initial emission rates observed in the field, they did not always correspond to steady-state emission rates.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 6227529
• Report Number(s): LBL-15878; CONF-830617-6; ON: DE83012875
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
ALDEHYDES
APPLIANCES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
FORMALDEHYDE
GAS APPLIANCES
HEATERS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
POLLUTION
SPACE HEATERS
VENTILATION