Method for Determination of Efficiency of Degradation of Air Pollutants by Air Purifiers

An analytical method for the testing of efficiency of degradation of air pollutants by air purifiers and a self-designed testing chamber were proposed. Formaldehyde, toluene, ammonia, methyl mercaptan and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) were selected as analytical objectives and determined by HPLC, GC-MS and spectrophotometry. Testing and inspection for air tightness of the chamber, and various parameters of the objective pollutants such as its base concentration, choice of initial concentration, natural attenuation, recovery, stability and reproducibility were carried out systematically. As shown by the experimental results, the proposed method was feasible to be used to evaluate the efficiency of air purifiers. A comparative study was made between the present method and the GB-standard method, giving similar and acceptable results, but better precision was attained by this method.