Recent development of photocatalytic degradation method that is mediated by TiO$_2$ is of interest in the treatment of volatile organic compounds(VOCs). In this study, trichloroethylene(TCE) and acetone were closely examined in a batch scale of photo-reactor as a function of water vapor, oxygen, and temperature. Water vapor inhibited the photocatalytic degradation of acetone, while there was an optimum concentration in TCE. A lower efficiency was found in nitrogen atmosphere than air, and the effect of oxygen on photocatalytic degradation of acetone was greater than on that of TCE. The optimum reaction temperature on photocatalytic degradation was about 45$^{\circ}C$ for both compounds. NO organic byproducts were detected for both compounds under the present experimental conditions. It was ascertained that the photocatalytic reaction in a batch scale of photo-reactor was very effective in removing VOCs such as TCE and acetone in the gaseous phase.

A report by the national research council in the United States suggested that many lung cancer deaths each year be associated with breathing radon in indoor air. Most of the indoor radon comes directly from soil beneath the basement of foundations. Recently, radon released from groundwater is found to contribute to the total inhalation risk from indoor air. This study presents the quantitative assessment of human exposures to radon released from the groundwater into indoor air. At first, a three-compartment model is developed to describe the transfer and distribution of radon released from groundwater in a house through showering, washing clothes, and flushing toilets. Then, to estimate a daily human exposure through inhalation of such radon for an adult. a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic(PBPK) model is developed. The use of a PBPK model for the inhaled radon could provide useful information regarding the distribution of radon among the organs of the human body. Indoor exposure patterns as input to the PBPK model are a more realistic situation associated with indoor radon pollution generated from a three-compartment model describing volatilization of radon from domestic water into household air. Combining the two models for inhaled radon in indoor air can be used to estimate a quantitative human exposure through the inhalation of indoor radon for adults based on two sets of exposure scenarios. The results obtained from the present study would help increase the quantitative understanding of risk assessment issues associated with the indoor radon released from groundwater.

A hybrid dust-collector combining electrostatic charging with fabric filtration method was developed, and its performance characteristics were evaluated in this study. Charged particles build porous dendritic structure on the surfaces of filter by electrostatic attraction, increasing the collection efficiency of dust particles and reducing the pressure drop through the deposited dust layer and filter media. The cleaning performance of the dust layer is improved because the dendritic structured dust layer can be removed more easily by pulse jet cleaning flow. The results of the experiment showed a reduction of fine particle emission of 37% and the energy saving of 13% by precharging dust particles before filtration.

In recent years there have been growing interests in the potential environmental effects of global climate change. Of specific interests is the role that climate change may play in altering natural volatile organic compound.(NVOC) emissions from trees and the subsequent impact of this perturbation on air quality and ozone formation. A novel vegetation enclosure chamber method was designed and constructed of Tedlar in order to estimate more accurate and precise NVOC emission rates of either small whole plants or the branches of large trees. The enclosure chamber was initially tested in the laboratory and also successfully evaluated in the field. Overall precision for this enclosure was estimated as RSD<10%(n=9). The overall errors associated with the enclosure method in a laboratory system might be relatively small (say<$\pm$15%); however, they might be rather large(say$\pm$40%) in a field-based system. Two consecutive samples were collected on each sampling day from the two pine species during the test period. Slash pine studies showed that the absolute percentage difference between the first and second samples varied from 0.33 to 29%. The percent differences between consecutive emission for loblolly pines varied from 0.74 to 24.2%.