TITLE:
Seasonal and Temporal Variations in Volatile Organic Compounds in Indoor and Outdoor Air in Al-Jahra City, Kuwait
AUTHORS:
Nabeel M. Al-Khulaifi, Humood F. Al-Mudhaf, Raslan Alenezi, Abdel-Sattar I. Abu-Shady, Mustafa I. Selim
KEYWORDS:
BTEX; Photochemical Reactivity; Weekend Effect; VOC Profiles; Office Buildings
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.5 No.4,
March
25,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Indoor
and outdoor air samples were simultaneously collected from the largest office
building in Jahra City during 57 sampling events between August 2010 and
November 2011. The collected samples were analyzed for 78 volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) using CO2 cryogenic preconcentration and GC/MS
analysis. Of the 48 VOCs detected, the toluene concentration exceeded the
recommended air quality guidelines in 2% of the outdoor samples, and the
benzene concentration exceeded these guidelines in 17.5% and 19.5% of the
indoor and outdoor samples, respectively. Industrial and vehicle emissions were
negligible. Emissions from oil fields, various crude oil production and flaring
activities in the north were major sources of VOCs in the ambient air. The VOC
profiles; seasonal, monthly, and weekday/weekend variations; and their effects
on ozone formation potentials are discussed. The results indicate that the most
abundant class of chemical compounds was oxygenated compounds, of which
acetone, acetaldehyde, propanal, methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol were the
most dominant species. Propene and toluene were the most abundant species of
aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, respectively.