Application of a High-Efficiency Cabin Air Filter for Simultaneous Mitigation of Ultrafine Particle and Carbon Dioxide Exposures Inside Passenger Vehicles

Modern passenger vehicles are commonly equipped with cabin air filters but their filtration efficiency for ultrafine particle (UFP) is rather low. Although setting the vehicle ventilation system to recirculation (RC) mode can reduce in-cabin UFPs by similar to 90%, passenger-exhaled carbon dioxide (CO2) can quickly accumulate inside the cabin. Using outdoor air (OA) mode instead can provide sufficient air exchange to prevent CO2 buildup, but in-cabin UFP concentrations would increase. To overcome this dilemma, we developed a simultaneous mitigation method for UFP and CO2 using high-efficiency cabin air (HECA) filtration in OA mode. Concentrations of UFP and other air pollutants were simultaneously monitored in and out of 12 different vehicles under 3 driving conditions: stationary, on local roadways, and on freeways. Under each experimental condition, data were collected with no filter, in-use original equipment manufacturer (OEM) filter, and two types of HECA filters. The HECA filters offered an average in-cabin UFP reduction of 93%, much higher than the OEM filters (similar to 50% on average). Throughout the measurements, the in-cabin CO2 concentration remained in the range of 620-930 ppm, significantly lower than the typical level of 2500-4000 ppm observed in the RC mode.