Investigating the Effectiveness of a Ventilation Intervention on Air Quality in a Commercial Kitchen
Yinxgi Lu, Tyler Cargill, Zhiyao Li, Jay R. Turner, JENNA DITTO, Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract Number: 471
Working Group: Chemicals of Emerging Concern in Aerosol: Sources, Transformations, and Impacts
Abstract
Emissions of gas- and particle-phase organic compounds from commercial kitchens can impact both indoor and outdoor air quality. Indoors, these emissions present a major source of occupational exposure for kitchen staff and other building occupants. We measured volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter, and surface-sorbed gases and particles in a campus building that housed both a ground-floor commercial kitchen and a second-floor office space. VOCs were chemically speciated with a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer across ions with formulae C1-15H4-33O0-5N0-3S0-3Cl0-3+. We also measured PM2.5 mass concentrations and CO2 mixing ratios with low-cost sensor devices on both floors of the building. At the same time, we deployed clean glass surfaces near the cooking area to chemically speciate surface-sorbed compounds via liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Measurements were made before and after a ventilation upgrade in the kitchen. The goal of the ventilation intervention was to improve range hood capture efficiency and reduce the levels of fugitive cooking emissions escaping into the building’s air at-large, causing discomfort and disruption to staff in the adjacent office spaces. We track tracers of oil thermal decomposition (focusing on carbonyls) and meat cooking (focusing on tracers from pork and beef as the main meats cooked at the barbeque-based kitchen, including a range of carbonyls, carboxylic acids, alcohols, and a subset of sulfur- and/or nitrogen-containing ions) as a function of the variable ventilation conditions. We also more broadly characterize the consistent contributions of cleaning and human emissions in the space. Together with measured particle concentrations and speciation of surface-sorbed species, we assess the air quality impacts of this ventilation upgrade.