Overview of HOMEChem: House Observations of Microbial and Environmental Chemistry

D. K. Farmer; M. E. Vance; J. P. D. Abbatt; A. Abeleira; M. R. Alves; C. Arata; E. Boedicker; S. Bourne; F. Cardoso-Saldaña; R. Corsi; P. F. DeCarlo; A. H. Goldstein; V. H. Grassian; L. Hildebrandt Ruiz; J. L. Jimenez; T. F. Kahan; E. F. Katz; J. M. Mattila; W. W. Nazaroff; A. Novoselac; R. E. O'Brien; V. W. Or; S. Patel; S. Sankhyan; P. S. Stevens; Y. Tian; M. Wade; C. Wang; S. Zhou; Y. Zhou

doi:10.1039/C9EM00228F

Overview of HOMEChem: House Observations of Microbial and Environmental Chemistry†

D. K. Farmer,

*^a M. E. Vance,

^b J. P. D. Abbatt,^c A. Abeleira,^a M. R. Alves,

^d C. Arata,^e E. Boedicker,^a S. Bourne,^f F. Cardoso-Saldaña,^f R. Corsi,^gq P. F. DeCarlo,

^hi A. H. Goldstein,

^ej V. H. Grassian,

^d L. Hildebrandt Ruiz,

^f J. L. Jimenez,

^k T. F. Kahan,

^lm E. F. Katz,

^h J. M. Mattila,^a W. W. Nazaroff,

^j A. Novoselac,^q R. E. O'Brien,

ⁿ V. W. Or,

^d S. Patel,^b S. Sankhyan,

^b P. S. Stevens,

^o Y. Tian,^e M. Wade,^f C. Wang,

^c S. Zhou

^l and Y. Zhou^p

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA 80523
E-mail: delphine.farmer@colostate.edu

^b Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA 80309

^c Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3H6

^d Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

^e Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

^f Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA 78758

^g Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA 97201

^h Department of Chemistry, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

ⁱ Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

^j Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1710, USA

^k Department of Chemistry and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

^l Department of Chemistry, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA

^m Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon SK, Canada S7N 5C9

ⁿ Department of Chemistry, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA 23185

^o O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA 47405

^p Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA 80523

^q Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA 78712

Abstract

The House Observations of Microbial and Environmental Chemistry (HOMEChem) study is a collaborative field investigation designed to probe how everyday activities influence the emissions, chemical transformations and removal of trace gases and particles in indoor air. Sequential and layered experiments in a research house included cooking, cleaning, variable occupancy, and window-opening. This paper describes the overall design of HOMEChem and presents preliminary case studies investigating the concentrations of reactive trace gases, aerosol particles, and surface films. Cooking was a large source of VOCs, CO₂, NO_x, and particles. By number, cooking particles were predominantly in the ultrafine mode. Organic aerosol dominated the submicron mass, and, while variable between meals and throughout the cooking process, was dominated by components of hydrocarbon character and low oxygen content, similar to cooking oil. Air exchange in the house ensured that cooking particles were present for only short periods. During unoccupied background intervals, particle concentrations were lower indoors than outdoors. The cooling coils of the house ventilation system induced cyclic changes in water soluble gases. Even during unoccupied periods, concentrations of many organic trace gases were higher indoors than outdoors, consistent with housing materials being potential sources of these compounds to the outdoor environment. Organic material accumulated on indoor surfaces, and exhibited chemical signatures similar to indoor organic aerosol.

This article is part of the themed collections: Organic Aerosols, Best Papers 2019 – Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts and Indoor Air: Sources, Chemistry and Health Effects

Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts

Overview of HOMEChem: House Observations of Microbial and Environmental Chemistry†

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