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Human skin is an important source of ammonia emissions [innovations-report.com]:

Ammonia in the human body stems primarily from the bacterial breakdown of proteins within cells and the intestine. It is transported by blood to the liver where it is converted to urea and ultimately washed out in urine.

Ammonia remaining in the blood can diffuse through the skin or be emitted in sweat or breath. Research on ammonia skin emissions is tricky. One reason for that is that the molecule is very adhesive.

“As the ammonia attaches itself to walls or fabrics it can change the pH of water on the surfaces and thus neutralize the acidifying effects of CO2 that comes out of our breath. It can hence change the chemistry of surfaces in your house turning them into less acidic”, Jonathan Williams, a scientific group leader at MPIC.

“Indoor air investigation is becoming more and more important”, says Mengze Li, PhD student at MPIC and first author of the study. In the past years many measurements have been conducted on gaseous emissions of furniture, floor covering or technical devices indoors.

However, over time the materials used for the production of these objects improved and their emissions went down. Furthermore, housing became more efficient – new buildings have better insulation and less air circulation in order to preserve energy. “It is therefore essential to understand how humans affect indoor air”, adds Williams.

Through its relevance in the formation of particulate matter, NH3 plays an important role in air quality. “We usually think that outdoor air influences indoor air. But looking at our measurements we might assume that in a hot, humid, densely populated megacity human ammonia emissions indoors could actually affect the particle production in outdoor air”, adds Williams. Results from this study can be used to more accurately model indoor and inner-city outdoor NH3 concentrations and associated chemistry.

Wissenschaftliche Ansprechpartner:

Jonathan Williams
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz
Telephone: +49 6131 305 4500
E-Mail: jonathan.williams@mpic.de

Originalpublikation:

Human Ammonia Emission Rates under Various Indoor Environmental Conditions
Mengze Li, Charles J. Weschler, Gabriel Bekö, Pawel Wargocki, Gregor Lucic, Jonathan Williams
Environmental Science and Technology. 2020, 54, 9, 5419-5428
Publication Date:April 1, 2020
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c00094 [doi.org]

Dr. Susanne Benner | Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie Further information:http://www.mpic.de/ [www.mpic.de]

Further reports about: ammonia [innovations-report.com] ammonia emissions [innovations-report.com] human skin [innovations-report.com] skin [innovations-report.com]

Original Submission