Cambustion
from Dong Gao
As COVID-19 cases rise again, strategies to address airborne transmission remain essential. Two recent studies share findings on indicators of infection risk and the effectiveness of air cleaner technologies:
Respiratory Aerosol Emissions from Vocalization: Age and Sex Differences Are Explained by Volume and Exhaled CO2
This Environmental Science and Technology Letters paper by Good et al. examined respiratory aerosol emissions and infection transmission risks. Males emitted more aerosol than females, adults emitted more than teenagers, and singing emitted higher levels than talking. Authors found noise and indoor CO2 levels could be used as indicators of infection risk in indoor spaces.
Real-Time Laboratory Measurements of VOC Emissions, Removal Rates, and Byproduct Formation from Consumer-Grade Oxidation-Based Air Cleaners
In another published Environmental Science and Technology LETTERS paper, Ye et al evaluates and reports on four devices touted to improve indoor air quality. Consumer-grade portable air cleaners that use chemical and oxidative technologies have been marketed as devices that can improve indoor air quality but the efficiency of these air cleaners is lacking. All tested units released volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxidation-based air cleaners further formed oxidized byproducts.
Aerodyne Research
This issue’s Newsletter Committee:
Editor | Kerry Kelly, University of UtahSenior Assistant Editor | Krystal Pollitt, Yale UniversityJunior Assistant Editor | Justice Archer, University of BristolGuest Contributor | Dong Gao