Correspondence on “Theoretical Threshold for Estimating the Impact of Ventilation on Materials’ Emissions”

Domhagen et al. (1) investigated the effect of ventilation on a material’s emission. Their results are interesting; however, the boundary condition in their model should be clarified. Their mathematical model is as follows Domhagen et al. (1) stated that the scenario considered was an indoor environment. However, their model does not include any parameter on the indoor environment. That is, their model and results are not reliable in simulating the emission of VOCs in an indoor environment. The model of Domhagen et al. (1) was based on previous studies. (2−6) Specifically, Liu et al. (4) considered the effect of the indoor environment as follows Although eq 9 is more complicated than eq 4, an analytical solution using eq 9 can also be obtained. The solution of eqs 1–3, 5, and 9 in the Laplace domain is Equations 10 and 12 show that there are two time constants for emission in an indoor environment. Because emphasis is placed on the concentration in the air, for the sake of simplicity, only the solution of eq 12 in the time domain is given here. The solutions of eqs 10 and 12 in the time domain depend on the values of t_V and t_c. (1) When t_c > 4t_V. Equation 12 can be rewritten as (2) When t_c = 4t_V. Equation 12 can be rewritten as The solution of the concentration in the time domain is (3) When t_c < 4t_V. Equation 12 can be rewritten as The analytical solutions described above show that the effect of t_V on the emission is complex. After c_m(0, t), the emission rate can be easily obtained using eq 9. We recommend that the authors review the effect of the variation of indoor concentration on the results of their analysis. This article references 6 other publications. This article has not yet been cited by other publications.