Performance evaluation of activated carbon sorbents for indoor air purification during normal and wildfire events

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a significant class of indoor air pollutants and are known for their adverse effects on health. A common strategy to reduce indoor VOC levels is to use sorbents, including activated carbons (ACs). The amount of activated carbon is critical to achieving a reasonable AC filter lifetime in an air purification device. The study aims to estimate the amount of carbon needed in a typical indoor environment and in a heavy use setting such as during cooking, agriculture field fires, or wildfires. The problem is complex as various types of ACs are used, and the type and concentration of VOCs in the indoor environment also vary in different settings. Therefore, literature data on thermophysical parameters for 45 AC-VOC pairs was used to estimate the required amount of AC under a given set of conditions. The study uses modeling distributions of the footprint of suitable carbon filters for the removal of common VOCs encountered indoors for a period of 30 days. It was found that while 50% of AC-VOC pairs surveyed will require about 190–370 g at low indoor VOCs levels of 0.1–1 μmol/m3(considered a good clean indoor environment), up to 1.1 kg of ACs are needed for a carbon filter to survive 30 days in a typical indoor environment (VOCs levels of 10 μmol/m3). On the other hand, 3–15 kg or more AC will be needed in a filter to survive 30 days during adverse events such as wildfires. The objective of the present study is to aid consumers and businesses in making an informed decision on the type of AC-based indoor air filters that meet their needs. Using this data, an open-access online calculator is being developed to predict the amount of carbon needed in a filter/device at any specific indoor air condition.