Enhancing indoor air quality : examination of formaldehyde adsorption efficiency of portable air cleaner fitted with chemically-treated activated carbon filters

Abstract

The pursuit of salubrious living environments necessitates a holistic approach to assuring indoor air quality. This entails considering not only particulate matter but also gaseous pollutants, particularly formaldehyde – a carcinogenic and prevalent pollutant in household environment. In addressing the persistent challenge in balancing efficiency, operating costs and environmental impact in formaldehyde removal, our study pioneers to empirically explore and compare the relationship between Carbon Tetrachloride Activity (CTC), Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR), and Cumulate Clean Mass (CCM) in the context of formaldehyde adsorption, using both raw and 2-Imidazolidone-treated activated carbon (AC) filters fitted in a Portable Air Cleaner (PAC). Our experimental results show that the formaldehyde CADRs of an air cleaner with chemically-treated CTC70 and CTC100 filters were about 251 m3/h and 286 m3/h respectively, representing an increase of 1.52 and 2.5 times over untreated filters, with the treated CTC100 AC filters outperforming the CTC70 filters by approximately 12 percent under new condition. While the precise mechanisms by which 2-Imidazolidone enhances the performance of AC filters are still unknown, these findings provide an first-of-its-kind directive for future research on the interplay among the parameters (CTC, CADR and CCM) of PACs, casting a foundation for further investigations that aim at optimizing the performance of AC filters, thereby making significant strides in the enhancement of indoor air quality.