Public Health and Indoor Body Odor Control: Part 2—A Pilot Study Using a Multi-Modal Air Cleaner

People spend most of their time indoors, and objectionable body odors can modify perceived indoor air quality, particularly in densely occupied spaces. Discomfort and psychosomatic effects may be experienced by exposed individuals. Such exposures can be mitigated by ventilation and supplementary air cleaning. However, there is a limited understanding of the effectiveness of air cleaning for specific body odor chemical classes, which may be important depending on occupants and settings. To advance knowledge in this area, a pilot study examining the removal efficiencies of representative underarm and foot odor chemicals by an advanced multi-modal air cleaner was conducted. Chemical analysis utilized photoionization detection (PID) and porous polymer sorption followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The pilot study demonstrated efficient removal of selected highly odorous aldehydes and carboxylic acids in single-pass laboratory experiments. Removal efficiencies were 97–99% for the three aldehydes tested, based on PID. Corresponding efficiencies for four carboxylic acids ranged from 72% (GC -MS, sub ppb) to 99% (PID, low ppb). Multi-modal air cleaners offer advantages over single-mode air cleaners by potentially mitigating a wider range of odors, reducing the need for large quantities of outside air and thereby improving energy efficiency. Data from this study provides evidence to inform engineers and designers of building ventilation systems where a reduced outside air requirement is desired to reduce carbon footprints and limit global warming.