Nail salons use many volatile organic compounds. In a nail salon with an 8 foot

Question

Nail salons use many volatile organic compounds. In a nail salon with an 8 foot (2.4 m) ceiling and an area of 500 ft2 (46.6 m2 ) the ventilation rate is 1 air change per hour (i.e., 1 air change equals to 1 volume of the room)

a) A steady-state concentration of acetone of 200 µg/m3 is measured in the salon. What is the rate at which acetone is volatilized into the indoor air from the chemicals used in the salon? Assume that acetone behaves conservatively, there is no acetone in the outdoor air, and the air in the salon is completely mixed. Given your answer in µg/h.

b) The owners of the salon want to purchase an air cleaning unit that causes the acetone to decay with first order kinetics. What first order rate constant would be required to reduce the steadystate acetone concentration to 50 µg/m3 ?

Explanation / Answer

a) we know according to steady state mass balance

S = Q(Ci - Co) / A

Where S = Steady state concentration = 200 µg/m3

A =Floor area of building = 46.6 m2

Ci = Measured concentration of acetone in building

Co = Measured concentration outside = 0

Q= total ventilation rate of building = 1 volume / hour = 1m^3 / hour

So Ci = A S    / Q = 46.6 X 200 / 1 = 9320 µg

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