Performance of a Streamer Plasma Air Purifier Examined with Sensory Assessments of Air Quality

The performance of streamer plasma (a kind of non-thermal plasma) air purifier was studied in the laboratory experiments using sensory assessments of air quality made by human subjects. To examine the effect on the perceived air quality, the air purifiers were operated in climate chambers in the presence and absence of typical indoor pollution sources and vapours of two alcohols. The percentage dissatisfied with the air quality immediately upon entering the chambers was systematically lower when the purifier was in operation. To examine trade-off between ventilation and air purification, two air purifiers were operated in test rooms with typical indoor pollution sources ventilated with different outdoor air supply rates. There was systematic reduction of the percentage dissatisfied with air quality immediately upon entering the test rooms when the air purifiers were in operation. This effect was equivalent to at least 25-30% reduction of outdoor air supply rate without reducing the level of the perceived air quality.