• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.1693-1698
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• 2012

A headspace gas chromatographic mass spectrometric (GC-MS) assay method was developed for the simultaneous determination of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), $tert$-butyl alcohol (TBA) and benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene (BTEX) in soil contaminated with gasoline. 2 g of soil sample were placed in a 10 mL headspace vial filled with 5 mL of phosphoric acid solution (pH 3) saturated with NaCl, and the solution was spiked with fluorobenzene as an internal standard and sealed with a cap. The vial was heated in a heating block for 40 min at $80^{\circ}C$. The detection limits of the assay were 0.08-0.12 ${\mu}g$/kg for the analytes. For five independent determinations at 10 and 50 ${\mu}g$/kg, the relative standard deviations were less than 10%. The method was used to analyze fifty six soil samples collected from various regions contaminated with gasoline in Korea. The developed method may be valuable for the monitoring of the analytes in soil.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.543-553
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• 2005

In recent days, photochemical smog due to the rapid industry development and vehicle increasement has become a critical pollutant in the metropolitan area and the number of ozone alarm signal has increased every year. This research was performed to evaluate VOCs emission source characteristics and concentration of VOCs in Daegu. The site average concentration was observed in the following order: industrial area > commercial area > residential area. Most of the VOCs species except toluene showed variations with higher concentration during nighttime, and lower concentration during the daytime. The major VOCs of stationary emission source were BTEX(benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene. xylene) and methylene chloride, trichloroethene and styrene. Also, those of automobile exhaust were toluene and benzene. Also, the major VOCs concentration emited by the vehicle fuel was observed in the following order: gasoline > light oil > liquefied petroleum gas (L.P.G). Correlation coefficients values were estimated between major VOCs such as toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, o-xylene. Results showed that correlation coefficient values were significant magnitude above 0.76. Also, there showed highly significant correlations among ethyl benzene, m,p-xylene, and o-xylene concentration(Pearson correlation coefficients, r=0.868-0.982). Calculated correlation coefficients among commercial area,industrial area and residential area were 0.934-0.981, they showed high correlation. There showed highly correlation between stationary emission source and industrial area, compared with commercial area and residential area. Also, calculated correlation coefficients among commercial area, industrial area, residential area and automobile exhaust were 0.732, 0.725, 0.777, respectively.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2010

Only limited information is available on the measured exposure levels of residents according to the construction age of apartments. As such, present study was conducted to measure and to compare the bedroom, living-room, and outdoor air levels of MTBE and benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and m,p-xylene(BTEX) in both newer and older apartments. For both newer and older apartments, all the compounds except for MTBE showed significantly higher levels in bedrooms or living-rooms as compared to the outdoor concentrations. The ratio of bedroom or living-room median concentration to outdoor concentration was close to 1 for MTBE, whereas it was larger than 1 for other target compounds. It was also found that the bedroom and living-room appeared to have similar indoor sources and sinks for BTEX, but not for MTBE. The median concentration ratios of the newer apartments to the older apartments ranged from 1.63 to 1.81, depending upon the compounds. In contrast, the MTBE concentrations did not differ significantly between the newer and older apartments, thereby suggesting that although newer buildings could emit more VOCs, this is not applicable to all VOCs. Conclusively, the findings of present study should be considered, when designing exposure studies associated with VOC emissions in buildings and/or managing indoor air quality according to construction age of buildings.

• Proceedings of the Korea Air Pollution Research Association Conference
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• 2003.05b
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• pp.217-218
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• 2003

오늘날 대기환경에 존재하는 여러 오염물질 중에서 오존의 생성과 밀접한 관련이 있는 질소산화물과 휘발성유기화합물 (volatile organic compound, VOC)의 대기 환경학적 역할의 중요성이 점차 부각되고 있다 (Liu et al., 2000. VOC는 비록 대기 중에 극미량 농도로 존재하지만, 이들 성분이 대기환경의 변화에 미치는 잠재적 영향력은 가늠하기 어려울 정도로 막대하다. 지금까지 도심환경에 대한 VOC 성분의 분포특성을 설명하기 위해, 주요 인위적 기원의 VOC 성분들의 주구성인자로 간주할 수 있는 benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, xylene (일반적으로 이들을 총칭하여 BTEX라 한다)을 위시한 방향족 화합물의 핵심성분들에 대한 환경거동 및 단주기적 분포특성에 대한 관측이 많은 연구자들에 의해 수행되었다(eg., Keymeulen et al., 2001). (중략)

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1321-1331
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• 2012

To date, carbon and nitrogen co-doped photocatalysts (CN-$TiO_2$) for environmental application focused mainly on the aqueous phase to investigate the decomposition of water pollutants. Accordingly, the present study explored the photocatalytic performance of CN-$TiO_2$ photocatalysts for the purification of indoor-level gas-phase aromatic species under different operational conditions. The characteristics of prepared photocatalysts were investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning emission microscope, diffuse reflectance UV-VIS-NIR analysis, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. In most cases, the decomposition efficiency for the target compounds exhibited a decreasing trend as input concentration (IC) increased. Specifically, the average decomposition efficiencies for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene (BTEX) over a 3-h process decreased from 29% to close to zero, 80 to 5%, 95 to 19%, and 99 to 32%, respectively, as the IC increased from 0.1 to 2.0 ppm. The decomposition efficiencies obtained from the CN-$TiO_2$ photocatalytic system were higher than those of the $TiO_2$ system. As relative humidity (RH) increased from 20 to 95%, the decomposition efficiencies for BTEX decreased from 39 to 5%, 97 to 59%, 100 to 87%, and 100 to 92%, respectively. In addition, as the stream flow rates (SFRs) decreased from 3.0 to 1.0 L $min^{-1}$, the average efficiencies for BTEX increased from 0 to 58%, 63 to 100%, 69 to 100%, and 68 to 100%, respectively. Taken together, these findings suggest that three (IC, RH, and SFR) should be considered for better BTEX decomposition efficiencies when applying CN-$TiO_2$ photocatalytic technology to purification of indoor air BTEX.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.487-496
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to develop the preliminary source fingerprints of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The source categories studied were vehicles, gasoline vapor, gasoline storage tank, coating, dry cleaning and road covering. The source samples were collected using 6L electro-polished stainless steel canisters for about 20 seconds. From this study, the main component emitted from VOC sources in Korea was toluene. The toluene proportion for road covering, vehicles, coating and gasoline vapor were 35, 18, 16 and 5%, respec- tively. The C$_2$-C$\sub$5/ alkane and alkene compounds were mainly emitted from vehicles, gasoline vapor and gasoline storage tank. The main compounds of coating were m/p-xylene(34%), toluene(16%), 1,2,4-TMB(10%) and o-xylene(9%), which are aromatic hydrocarbons. In the case of dry cleaning, nonane(41%), 1,2,4-TMB (22%) and 1,3,5-TMB(13%) were mainly emitted.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.583-590
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• 2006

In this study, an organic solvent tolerant bacterial strain was isolated. This strain was identified as Pseudomonas sp. strain S5, and was shown to degrade BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl-Benzene, and Xylene). Strain S5 generates an organic solvent-tolerant lipase in the late logarithmic phase of growth. Maximum lipase production was exhibited when peptone was utilized as the sole nitrogen source. Addition of any of the selected carbon sources to the medium resulted in a significant reduction of enzyme production. Lower lipase generation was noted when an inorganic nitrogen source was used as the sole nitrogen source. This bacterium hydrolyzed all tested triglycerides and the highest levels of pro-duction were observed when olive oil was used as a natural triglyceride. Basal medium containing Tween 60 enhanced lipase production to the most significant degree. The absence of magnesium ions ($Mg^{2+}$) in the basal medium was also shown to stimulate lipase production. Meanwhile, an alkaline earth metal ion, $Na^+$, was found to stimulate the production of S5 lipase.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2024

Background: The use of scented candles and incense sticks, both of which are household products that are burned for indoor deodorization and calming effects, is increasing. Fine dust has been designated as a group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affect air pollution and can cause diseases. Objectives: This study aims to determine the effect on indoor air quality by measuring PM_2.5 and VOCs generated when burning scented candles and incense sticks. Methods: Scented candles and incense sticks were selected as household products to burn. As for the target sample, top-selling products (five types of scented candles, five types of incense sticks) were purchased online. The PM_2.5 concentration according to time was measured immediately next to the sample and three meters away from each other in an enclosed space using a real-time aerosol photometer. VOCs were collected as samples under the same conditions using Tenax tubes and were quantitatively analyzed by TD-GC/MS. Results: In the case of scented candles, the concentration of PM_2.5 did not increase during combustion and after being extinguished by placing a cover on the candle. For the incense sticks, the concentration of PM_2.5 averaged 1,901.27 ㎍/m³. After burning scented candles and incense sticks, some VOCs concentrations were increased such as ethyl acetate and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene). Conclusions: Therefore, when using scented candles, extinguishment by placing a cover on the candle can be expected to reduce PM_2.5. It is advisable to avoid using incense sticks because PM_2.5 concentration increases from the start of combustion.