A Passive Opportunity for Improving Air Quality in the Schools Environment: A Real-World Scale Testing

Abstract

Can passive technology effectively enhance the indoor air quality? To improve classroom indoor air quality, an increase in ventilation and/or air purifiers are often suggested. In this study, a short-term intervention was implemented and investigated to evaluate the effects of a passive adsorbent surface on the pollutant deposition velocity and to improve the overall classroom air quality. We found that furnishing the classroom wall with adsorbent cloth surfaces results in decreased levels of indoor-generated pollutants. The main indoor parameters monitored (CO₂, relative humidity, particulate matter) in the presence of a passive sorbent material are lowered: the indoor relative humidity lower than a 7% and carbon dioxide of about 5%. The NO₂ deposition velocity has been estimated to 5.1*10^-2 (1.8- 6.0)*10^-2 cm/s while for SO₂ equals to 0.24 (0.02-1.25)*10^-2 cm/s. These results suggest that in low-polluted areas, activated carbon cloth may well be used to improve classroom indoor air quality.