Near-building vertical concentration profile of air pollutants in a densely populated and high-rise urban environment

Abstract

The indoor air quality depends highly on the concentration of outdoor air pollutants. Before devising effective ventilation strategies for high-rise buildings in a densely populated urban environment, it is important to understand the near building vertical concentration profile of various air pollutants. It is found that carbon dioxide and PM10 concentrations decreased along the building height in a crowded city center, while for a building in a relatively remote urban area, PM10 concentrations, but not for carbon dioxide, showed the same decreasing trend. Also, the concentration of PM1 showed no significant changes in their vertical profile, and it became the prime source of airborne particulate matter pollutant at higher level. It is concluded that a mechanical ventilation system for a high-rise urban building should be designed to cope with, not only the amount of outdoor air intake, but also the pollutants filtration at various heights of the building.