Investigating primary emissions and secondary chemistry following cooking

Cooking is a known indoor source of contaminants including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM). Some VOCs react with oxidants found indoors, forming species that are harmful to human health. Scripted cooking activities were conducted under low ventilation conditions, followed by a study of the evolution of reactants and products over several hours. Online measurements of VOCs and PM were performed using selected-ion flow tube mass spectrometry and an electrical low-pressure impactor respectively. INCHEM-Py, an indoor chemistry box-model was used to simulate secondary chemistry using experimental data. Time series data shows increases in multiple species of VOC and size fractions of PM. Emissions of particles and different VOC species were observed at different stages during the cooking process.