Predicting the transport process of indoor semi-volatile organic compounds via lattice Boltzmann method

• A LB model is developed to predict the transport process of indoor DEHP.
• Every airborne particle's movement is considered.
• The airborne particle concentration affects indoor DEHP concentration distribution.
• Both the concentration and diameter of airborne particles affects the DEHP emission.
• The displacement ventilation is better than the cross one for indoor DEHP reduction.

In this paper, a model consisting of the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method for fluid flow and mass transport and the cellular automata probabilistic method employed for simulating the movement of airborne particles to predict the transport process of indoor semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) is developed. This model is used to obtain the concentration distribution of the airborne di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), a typical SVOC, including the gas-phase DEHP and the particle-phase DEHP in the given indoor environment where the vinyl flooring is the only emission source. Research on the influence of airborne particles on the transport of indoor airborne DEHP is made through comparing concentration distribution of DEHP in the cases of different airborne particle mass concentration and diameter, respectively. The DEHP emission rate under different ventilation types is also studied. Simulation results show that the airborne particle concentration directly affects the indoor DEHP emission. The increase of the indoor airborne particle mass concentration or the decrease of the airborne particle diameter will both help reduce the gas phase DEHP concentration. The emission rate increases with the increase of the airborne particle concentration. The indoor DEHP pollution will be reduced when the air changes per hour (ACH) increases. In general, Comparing with the cross ventilation method, the displacement one is more beneficial to reduce indoor DEHP pollution.