Regional standardized particle size distributions for developing a Chinese filter testing standard used in building ventilation

• Published in: Journal of Building Engineering Vol. 44; p. 102972
• Main Authors: Zhou, Huayuan, Sun, Yang, Zhong, Ke, Wang, Yuesi, Cai, Jie, Kang, Yanming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Air filter; Building ventilation; Collection efficiency; Indoor air quality; Particle size distribution; Particle size distribution; Air filter; Collection efficiency; Building ventilation; Indoor air quality
• ISSN: 2352-7102; 2352-7102
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102972

The impact of particulate matter (PM) on indoor air quality (IAQ) has become an important issue in China, whereas the standard for the filtration of PM in building ventilation has not been promulgated up to now. Due to the impacts of particle size distribution (PSD) on the particle removal efficiency of the air filters, and also due to the various characteristics of local PSD across China, it is necessary to analyze the selection of PSD when evaluating particle removal efficiency for practical applications. Although the efficiency of PM (ePMX) for various particle size ranges, proposed in the latest EN ISO 16890 standard, is used to evaluate the actual effect of air filters for building ventilation on the improvement of IAQ, it is inappropriate to be adopted for the cases in China. In the present study, fine particle proportion (PM2.5/PM10) is employed and ambient aerosol distributions across China are analyzed. The measured PSDs at 35 cities are fitted to bimodal distribution. And then the ePMX and class reporting values (CRVs) of three representative filters are calculated. The results indicate that being affected by the characteristics of PSD, the ePMX and CRV differences of the same air filter between different PSD regions can be up to about 20% and 15%, respectively. Therefore, the China PSD regions are divided into five regions and the standardized PSD is determined for each region of the mainland. [Display omitted] •Effects of particle size distribution (PSD) on air filter efficiency are studied.•Efficiency difference of the same filter due to different PSDs is as high as 20%.•China PSDs are divided into five regions by using long-term observation data.•Regional standardized PSDs are determined for each China PSD region.