AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Ultrafine PM Emissions from Hardcopy Devices Measured per RAL UZ 171
ELLIOTT HORNER, Scott Steady, UL Environment
Abstract Number: 380 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Office equipment with printing capabilities (hardcopy devices) is a source of ultrafine particles (UFPs) in the indoor environment. As of 2013, UFP emissions are included in standard RAL-UZ-171 in addition to e.g. ozone, VOC, etc. RAL-UZ-171 requires the UFP emissions rate (PER) over a 10 minute print phase (PER10) to not exceed 3.5E11 particles emitted per 10 minutes. Pooled data from multiple manufacturers are presented to describe the range of initial observations according to test parameters. Measurements were made using a butanol-based condensation particle counter (CPC); data reduction and calculations are as per RAL-UZ-171. Auxiliary variables used in the determination of PER10 include a particle loss coefficient (beta), the difference in particle concentration between beginning the print job and the PER returning to less than 10 percent of PERmax (deltaC(p)) and the total particle (TP) count emitted. The CV of the beta values across initial runs (different devices) was 33 percent, indicating reasonable consistency in the operation of the measurement chamber. The delta C(p) varied according to device from less than 100 to almost 100,000 with one half of the runs in the range of thousands. TP, which due to the controlled conditions, largely determined PER10, covered three orders of magnitude. PER10 values were measured as low as mid 10E8 level and at over 5E11. This standardized manner of operating hardcopy devices in a well-controlled environment provides reliable evaluation criteria to be delivered, which can support further assessment of hardcopy devices.