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Emissions from Essential Oil Diffusers
BOWEN DU, Heather Schwartz-Narbonne, Jeffrey Siegel, University of Toronto
Abstract Number: 446
Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract
Essential oils are becoming increasingly popular as scents and antibiotics as well as broadly used in aromatherapy. Many types of oils have been claimed to have positive health impacts. Evidence suggests essential oils may also affect the central nervous systems and alter mood, cognitive function, and behavior. However, the constitution of aerosols emitted by essential oils is poorly understood. We characterized the VOC (α-pinene, β-pinene, eucalyptol, linalool, linalyl acetate, limonene) and particle (10 – 300 nm) emissions from four types of essential oils (lemon, eucalyptus, lavender, and grapeseed) vaporized by an ultrasonic diffuser using deionized water. Both types of emissions were found to vary considerably between oils. Eucalyptus and lemon oils had overall higher VOC emission rates, with eucalyptol and limonene being the predominant VOC species emitting at a rate of over 10 mg/h. Limonene was also detected in the emissions of other oils, varying from 0.8 – 4 mg/h. The PM1 emission rate was the highest for grapeseed oil (1 – 1.5 mg/h), followed by lemon oil at 0.8 – 1 mg/h. In contrast, eucalyptus and lavender oils had PM1 emission rates below 0.1 mg/h. The particle size distribution measured suggested that the particles emitted were mostly smaller than 100 nm in size except for grapeseed oil where the predominant size was above 300 nm. Particle emissions from the eucalyptus oil were elevated by a factor of 4 – 5 when tap water was used as would commonly be used. The overall high emission rates, as well as the potential for secondary aerosol formation with the emitted VOCs, suggests caution in the use of these devices, particularly in poorly ventilated indoor environments.