Materiais de construção como: adesivos, selantes, aglomerados, compensados, carpetes, revestimentos de parede, isolamentos, forros acústicos etc., emitem compostos orgânicos volateis (COVs) em ambientes internos (Niu e Burnett, 2001). No caso da tinta no Brasil, Salasar (2006) indica que \"as tintas à base de solventes emitem 520 vezes mais COVs em relação às tintas à base de água\". Consequentemente aumentos significativos na concentração de poluentes químicos e biológicos do ar em ambientes internos são provocados pelas baixas taxas de troca de ar em conjunto com a emissão de COVs originados pelos materiais de construção dos ambientes internos (Gioda & Neto, 2003). O objetivo nesta pesquisa é identificar compostos orgânicos volateis nas emissões de tintas imobiliárias usadas em ambientes internos na cidade de São Carlos. O laboratório foi realizado com o equipamento de cromatografia gasosa acoplado a espectrometria de massas, com siglas GC/MS, junto com o aparelho para extração da amostra chamado de micro extração de fase sólida (SPME), para duas amostras de cada tinta sendo uma fresca (úmida) e outra seca. O laboratório GC/MS quando é utilizado com micro extração de fase sólida (SPME) é o método mais aproximado do ideal, já que permite qualificar os COVs contidos nas amostras de tinta com maior eficiência que qualquer outro método (Koziel & Pawliszym, 2001). A escolha das tintas, esmaltes e o verniz foram determinadas como aquelas de maior uso e venda entre os pintores e lojas de tintas, respectivamente, na cidade de São Carlos. Os resultados mostraram que as tintas podem chegar a emitir juntas mais de 61 compostos orgânicos voláteis, a maior parte deles causa irritação respiratória e cinco desses compostos são suspeitos de desenvolver câncer, a concentração de cada composto não foi determinada. Uma suposição é que a saúde dos pintores pode estar sendo afetada, pois eles têm contato constante com as emissões das tintas, neste sentido é preocupante que esses trabalhadores da construção civil sejam informais, pois nesta condição o risco à sua saúde pode ser agravado devido à falta de capacitação necessária sobre a utilização do material que estão manipulando. Parte do resultado da pesquisa mostra também por meio de um questionário, as marcas de tintas imobiliárias comumente usadas na cidade de São Carlos, assim como uma noção sobre as doenças que as tintas produzem. O questionário foi elaborado para 40 pessoas entre pintores e vendedores de lojas de tinta na cidade de São Carlos. As fichas de segurança de produtos químicos FISPQ correspondentes para cada tinta omitem informações sobre alguns ingredientes considerados de risco encontrados nas amostras de tintas, como por exemplo, compostos suspeitos de desenvolver câncer. É importante para o Brasil a criação com urgência de um selo ambiental confiável que garanta a baixa concentração de emissão de COVs nas tintas como produto, mediante valores quantificáveis. Se similar ao selo \"Green Seal\", o mesmo daria não só uma forma de controle sobre a emissão de COVs nos prédios senão confiabilidade e garantia. O selo será um parâmetro de exigência nas certificações ambientais para confirmar as baixas emissões de COVs nos materiais das edificações sustentáveis, que até agora são inexistentes. / Building materials such as: Adhesives, sealants, plywood, carpeting, wall coverings, insulation, acoustic ceilings etc., emit volatiles organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor environments (Niu e Burnett, 2001). In the case of the paint in Brazil, Salasar (2006) indicates that \"solvent-based paints emit VOCs 520 times as compared to water-based paint.\". Consequently significant concentration of chemical and biological pollutants from indoor air, are caused by low rates of air exchange in conjunction with the emission of VOCs originating from the construction of the indoor materials (Gioda & Neto, 2003). The objective of this research is to identify volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from architectural coatings used indoors in São Carlos. The laboratory was performed with gas chromatography equipment coupled to mass spectrometry with acronyms GC/MS, with the instrument for sample extraction called solid phase micro extraction (SPME) for two samples of each paint: a fresh (wet) and a dry. The GC/MS laboratory when used with solid phase micro extraction (SPME) is the closest to the ideal method, allows to qualify the VOCs contained in the paint samples more efficiently than any other method (Pawliszym & Koziel, 2001). The choice of paints, enamels and varnish were determined as those of greater use and sale among painters and paint stores, respectively, in the city of São Carlos. The results showed that the paint can issue more than 61 volatile organic compounds, most of them cause respiratory irritation and five of these compounds are suspected of developing cancer, the concentration of each compound was not determined. One of the hypotheses is that the health of painters may be being affected, as they have constant contact with emissions from paints,in this respect it is wrong that these workers of the construction are informal, because in this condition the risk to your health can be aggravated due to lack of necessary training on the use of the material. Part of the search result also shows by means of a questionnaire , the marks of paints commonly used in the city of São Carlos, as well as a notion about the diseases that produce the paints. The questionnaire was designed in 40 people between painters and sellers of paint shops in the city of São Carlos. Safety data sheets for chemicals corresponding MSDS for each paint omit some information about ingredients considered risk in samples of paints, such as examples, compounds suspected of developing cancer. It is important for Brazil to urgently create a reliable environmental seal that ensures low emission concentration of VOCs in paints and product through quantifiable values . If the seal is similar to the seal \"Green Seal\", it would not only a form of control over the emission of VOCs in buildings too reliability and warranty The stamp will be a requirement parameter in environmental certifications to confirm low emissions of VOCs in materials of sustainable buildings , which until now are nonexistent.

M.Phil. (Energy Studies) / Southern Africa is a major source of regional aerosols and trace gases from biomass burning, and this creates a need for experimental validation and systematics of the magnitude and frequency of aerosol transport episodes affecting the atmosphere of the region. This study links surface measurements of biomass burning atmospheric aerosols and trace gases with air mass trajectory analysis to determine transport pathways for periods of high and low concentrations. The hypothesis of this study is that from chemical signatures of trace gases and aerosols, as well as trajectory analyses, it is possible to identify sources of these emissions from industrial, traffic, marine and biomass burning activities. Consequently, frequencies, durations, intensities and seasonal variations of trace gases can be established. The study aims to interpret the long-term atmospheric monitoring record from a remote monitoring station at Botsalano (North West Province, South Africa) to determine the origin, frequencies, durations, intensities and seasonal occurrences of aerosol/haze episodes influencing the atmosphere of southern Africa. A suite of trace gas analysers and a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS®) were used to measure ground level trace gas and aerosol quantities. MATLAB® scripts were used in performing quality assurance and processing to provide a working set of data from which different fire periods could be selected. Fire signatures, based on excess CO above average tropospheric levels and episodes of enhanced particulate matter concentrations in the 10 to 200 nm range, were identified using MATLAB® scripts and Excel®. Altogether 36 plumes were accepted as biomass burning plumes. Twenty-nine fire plumes had weak signals with excess CO ratios ranging between 0.07 and 0.32; seven plumes had strong signals ranging between 0.41 and 0.64. The occurrence of identified biomass burning plumes was high in the dry season from May to October (83%) and low (17%) during the wet season from November to April. Four pathways were identified for the long-range transportation of biomass burning aerosols to the site: easterly, south-westerly, re-circulation and northerly modes, with occurrence frequencies of 39%, 31%, 22% and 8%, respectively. Anti-cyclonic circulation was observed over southern Africa and was evident in the re-circulation and Indian Ocean slow modes. CO and Aitken-mode aerosol number intensities were generally larger for fire emissions arriving in the easterly and south-westerly air masses when compared with those arriving in re-circulation and northerly air masses. Easterly and south-westerly flows were dominated by Aitken-mode aerosol, whereas accumulation mode particles dominated in the re-circulation and northerly modes. Consequently, easterly and south-westerly flows transported emissions from young/fresh fire plumes, with source regions probably close to Botsalano. Re-circulation and northerly flows were responsible for transport of rather aged plumes from more distant regional fires. Based on forward trajectories, this study revealed that the 2006/2007 measurement period exhibited transport features of a La Niña ENSO during which transport of biomass v burning aerosols towards the south in the Indian Ocean slow and Indian Ocean fast modes was most frequent. This study is significant in that it complements earlier studies of regional aerosol transport over the sub-continent and adds to the understanding of the regional scale generation and transport of trace substances through the atmosphere. Furthermore, the study combines a technique for identifying enhanced CO concentrations as a unique identifier of large scale biomass combustion events with the use of the Aitken-mode particle number densities and size distributions. This technique reveals aspects of aerosol growth dynamics through the changing size distributions, thereby adding fresh insights normally not available through conventional particle volume/mass concentrations measurements.

Ce travail de recherche a été réalisé dans le cadre d’une Convention Industrielle de Formation par la Recherche (CIFRE). Il a été financé par l'Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie (ANRT) et le Groupe Elithis, bureau d’étude spécialisé dans le domaine de l’efficacité énergétique. Le bâtiment représentant à lui seul plus de 40% de la demande énergétique en Europe et plus d’un tiers des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES), un effort très important d’amélioration de l’efficacité énergétique des bâtiments associé à une réduction drastique de leurs émissions de GES est aujourd’hui nécessaire. En ce sens, l’évolution des réglementations, tant européennes que nationales converge vers le développement à grande échelle de bâtiments neufs ou rénovés à très faible demande énergétique. Dans les stratégies de conditionnement des espaces intérieurs, la gestion optimisée de la ventilation occupe le premier poste. Outre le renouvellement d’air, la ventilation est en effet la plus ancienne et la plus utilisée des stratégies de contrôle de la qualité des environnements intérieurs (QEI). Outre les aspects énergétiques, les travaux internationaux menés par l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (WHO, 2000) ou dans le cadre de projets européens coordonnés (European Collaborative Action Urban Air, Indoor Environnement and Human Exposure) (ECA, 2003) permettent d’affirmer aujourd’hui que la qualité de l’air est reconnue comme un enjeu réel de santé publique (ANSES, 2014). Ainsi, pour traiter de la performance d’un système de ventilation, outre les aspects énergétiques et son efficacité à évacuer les polluants ou apporter de l’air neuf dans la zone d’occupation, il convient donc d’aborder le problème complet de la qualité des environnements intérieurs (QEI) intégrant dans sa définition la qualité de l’air intérieur (QAI) mais aussi le confort hygrothermique et visuel des occupants. Nous avons réalisé tout un suivi expérimental de consommation énergétique, de confort thermique et de la qualité de l’air dans un bâtiment de bureaux à faible demande énergétique, la Tour Elithis. Nous avons observé que l’efficacité énergétique n’est pas toujours synonyme de confort et bonne qualité de l’air. Nous avons donc construit un modèle numérique de ce bâtiment qui nous a permis de tester et analyser différentes stratégies de fonctionnement. Nous avons utilisé différents critères de QEI qui nous ont permis de faire une analyse de la performance globale du bâtiment, pour conclure que le confort hygrothermique, visuel et la QAI peuvent être associés à une optimisation de la demande énergétique. / This research work was carried out in conformity with the Industrial Convention of Training by Research (CIFRE). And was financed by the National Association of Research and Technology (ANRT) and the Elithis Group (Groupe Elithis), engineering and consulting firm specializing in the field of energy efficiency. The building represents more than 40 % of the energy demand in Europe and more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), an important effort to improve the energy efficiency of buildings associated have a drastic reduction in their green house gas emissions (GHG) is necessary today. In this sense, the evolution of the regulations, so Europeans as nationals converge on the development on a large scale new or renovated building with a very low energy demand. In the strategies of conditioning of the internal spaces, the optimized management of ventilation takes the first step. Besides the renewal of air, the ventilation is indeed the oldest and the most widely used strategies of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). Besides the energy aspects, the international work led by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2000) or within the framework of coordinated European projects (European Collaborative Action Urban Air, Indoor Environment and Human Exposure) (ECA, 2003) claims today that the air quality is recognized as a real stake in public health (ANSES, 2014). So, to deal with the performance of a ventilation system, besides the energy aspects and its efficiency to evacuate pollutants or to provide new air in the occupied zone, it is thus advisable to approach the complete problem of the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) integrating into its definition the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) but also the hydrothermal and visual comfort of the occupants. We carried out a complete follow-up of energy consumption, thermal comfort and the air quality in an office building with low energy demand, the Tower Elithis. We observed that energy efficiency is not always synonymous with comfort and good air quality. We thus created a digital model of this building, which allowed us to test and to analyze different strategies of function. We used various criteria of IEQ which allowed us to make an analysis of the global performance of the building, to conclude that the hydrothermal, visual comfort and the IAQ can be associated to an optimization of the energy demand.

La qualité de l’air à l’intérieur des bâtiments basse consommation devient une problématique préoccupante dans le contexte actuel de règlementations thermiques de plus en plus exigeantes. Une des solutions envisagées pour concilier qualité de l’air intérieur et performance énergétique dans les bâtiments est l’intégration de systèmes d’épuration dans les réseaux de ventilation. Peu de retour d’expériences in situ permettent d’évaluer l’intérêt de ces systèmes pour répondre à la problématique. La solution envisagée dans ces travaux est l’évaluation par la simulation numérique. Ce choix a nécessité le développement d’un outil numérique capable de représenter de façon couplée les phénomènes thermiques, aérauliques et ceux liés à la qualité de l’air intérieur par une représentation multipolluant, à l’échelle d’un bâtiment ou d’une partie d’un bâtiment. Cet outil a été développé dans l’environnement Dymola sous le langage Modelica. Des expérimentations ont été menées dans ces travaux dans le but de compléter l’outil numérique par des lois empiriques caractérisant, d’une part les phénomènes de sorption des polluants gazeux par les matériaux de revêtement intérieur, d’autre part le comportement, à la fois énergétique et sanitaire, de six solutions d’épuration. Pour illustrer la capacité d’étude acquise grâce aux développements numériques et expérimentaux qui ont été réalisés dans le cadre des travaux de thèse, une zone de bureaux d’un bâtiment tertiaire a été simulée pour deux zones climatiques et pour deux types de pollution extérieure sur une année type complète. Les trois solutions d’épuration ayant montrées des performances tangibles lors de la phase expérimentale ont été simulées sous plusieurs conditions de fonctionnement puis comparées à deux cas de surventilation des locaux (sans épuration de l’air). Un indice global combinant performance sanitaire et énergétique a été ainsi défini dans le but de hiérarchiser les différentes stratégies simulées. Les résultats obtenus permettent de valider la méthodologie employée, notamment en montrant à la fois l’intérêt de contextualiser les solutions envisagées pour les évaluer, et l’importance de travailler, lors des expérimentations, à des conditions représentatives de la réalité des environnements intérieurs. Plusieurs voies d’amélioration de l’outil numérique développé sont également proposées en conclusion, ainsi que différents points de discussion qui méritent l’attention de travaux futurs dans le domaine. / Indoor air quality in low-energy buildings has become these recent years an important topic with the rigorous performance expectations in terms of envelope airtightness and energy consumption set by the RT2012 thermal building code. One possible solution to conciliate indoor air quality and energy performance is to integrate air-cleaning systems in the building ventilation system. Because of the lack of scientific results regarding the suitability of those systems to solve this problematic, an investigation using numerical simulation has been conducted in the present work. This choice led to the development of a numerical tool that resolves in a coupled way, the heat and mass transfers, considering a multi-pollutant representation at the scale of the building/rooms. This tool was developed in the Dymola environment, using the Modelica programming language. Several experiments were also performed in the present work to acquire complementary data about the sorption of gaseous pollutants by indoor covering materials and about the cleaning effectiveness and energy consumption of six air-cleaning systems. To illustrate the capabilities of the numerical tool, simulations have been performed for an office building zone. The building has been located in two climatic zones and submitted to two levels of outdoor pollution, for a whole year. Three of the tested solutions that have shown the best air-cleaning performances in the experimental phase have been simulated under various operating conditions. Two cases of higher amount of fresh air, i.e. without any air-cleaning system, have been also included to the study. One index has then been defined to compare the performance of the different solutions considering both the exposure reduction to eight pollutants and the induced energy consumption. The results obtained in the present study confirm the adequacy of the proposed methodology. In particular, the importance of evaluating the solutions in their real context and not simply relying on their intrinsic performances to judge their performances when applied to indoor environments has been demonstrated. Another important issue is the need to conduct experimental characterizations of sorption processes and air-cleaning system under environmental conditions representative of real indoor spaces, i.e. low pollutant concentration and adequate air temperature, humidity and velocity. Future developments needed to improve the capabilities of the numerical tool are presented in conclusion as well as some important issues that would need a careful attention for further works in the domain.

L'objectif principal de cette thèse est le développement d'outils numériques peu coûteux pour la cartographie de concentrations de polluants a partir de mesures et de modèles déterministes avancés. Le développement mondial et l'urbanisation des populations génèrent une hausse d’émissions et d'expositions. A n d'estimer les expositions individuelles et évaluer leur association à des pathologies diverses, les campagnes de mesure de qualité de l'air, et des études épidémiologiques sur les effets de santé de la pollution sont devenues plus courantes. Cependant, les concentrations de pollution de l'air sont très variables en temps et en espace. La sensibilité et la précision de ces études est souvent détériorée par de mauvais classements des expositions dus aux estimations grossières des expositions individuelles. Les méthodes d'assimilation de données intègrent des données de mesures et des modèles mathématiques a n de mieux approximer le champ de concentration. Quand ces méthodes sont basées sur un modèle de qualité de l'air (AQM) déterministe avancé, elles sont capables de fournir des approximations détaillées et de petite échelle. Ces informations précises permettront de meilleures estimations d'exposition. Néanmoins, ces méthodes sont souvent tr es coûteuses. Elles nécessitent la résolution a plusieurs reprises du modèle, qui peut être coûteux soi-même. Dans ce travail nous enquêtons sur la combinaison des méthodes des bases réduites (RB) et d'assimilation de données pour des AQM avancés a l'échelle urbaine. Nous souhaitons diminuer le coût de résolution en exploitant les RB, et incorporer des données de mesure a n d'améliorer la qualité de la solution. On étend la méthode de Parameterized-Background Data-Weak (PBDW) pour des AQMs basés sur la physique. Cette méthode est capable d'estimer de façon rapide et "online" des concentrations de polluants à l'échelle du quartier. Elle se sert des AQMs disponibles dans une procédure non intrusive et efficace par rapport aux temps de calculs pour réduire le coût de résolution par des centaines de fois. Les résultats de PBDW sont comparés à la méthode d'interpolation empirique généralisée (GEIM) et à une méthode inverse usuelle, la méthode adjointe, a n de mesurer l'efficacité de la PBDW. Cette comparaison montre la possibilité d'augmenter la précision de la solution, et d'une grande réduction en temps de calcul par rapport à des méthodes classiques. Dans nos applications sur un modèle imparfait, l'étude a fourni des estimations d'état avec erreur d'approximation de moins de 10% presque partout. Les résultats se montrent prometteurs pour la reconstruction en temps réel de champs de pollution sur de grands domaines par la PBDW / The principal objective of this thesis is the development of low-cost numerical tools for spatial mapping of pollutant concentrations from field observations and advanced deterministic models. With increased pollutant emissions and exposure due to mass urbanization and development worldwide, air quality measurement campaigns and epidemiology studies of the association between air pollution and adverse health effects have become increasingly common. However, as air pollution concentrations are highly variable spatially and temporally, the sensitivity and accuracy of these epidemiology studies is often deteriorated by exposure misclassi cation due to poor estimates of individual exposures. Data assimilation methods incorporate available measurement data and mathematical models to provide improved approximations of the concentration. These methods, when based on an advanced deterministic air quality models (AQMs), could provide spatially-rich small-scale approximations and can enable better estimates of effects and exposures. However, these methods can be computationally expensive. They require repeated solution of the model, which could itself be costly. In this work we investigate a combined reduced basis (RB) data assimilation method for use with advanced AQMs on urban scales. We want to diminish the cost of resolution, using RB arguments, and incorporate measurement data to improve the quality of the solution. We extend the Parameterized-Background Data-Weak (PBDW) method to physically-based AQMs. This method can rapidly estimate "online" pollutant concentrations at urban scale, using available AQMs in a non-intrusive and computationally effcient manner, reducing computation times by factors up to hundreds. We apply this method in case studies representing urban residential pollution of PM2.5, and we study the stability of the method depending on the placement or air quality sensors. Results from the PBDW are compared to the Generalized Empirical Interpolation Method (GEIM) and a standard inverse problem, the adjoint method, in order to measure effciency of the method. This comparison shows possible improvement in precision and great improvement in computation cost with respect to classical methods. We fi nd that the PBDW method shows promise for the real-time reconstruction of a pollution eld in large-scale problems, providing state estimation with approximation error generally under 10% when applied to an imperfect model

De nombreux capteurs d'ammoniac existent, mais la prise en compte de l'effet de l'humidité sur la mesure capteur est rarement assurée, y compris chez les fabricants. L'objectif de cette thèse est de proposer un transducteur conductimétrique capable de mesurer le taux d'ammoniac de façon sélective, avec une précision suffisante, pour une application au contrôle de la qualité de l'air dans un environnement à taux d'humidité variable. Le moyen employé pour atteindre cet objectif est l'utilisation de résistors à base de phtalocyanines de cobalt, sous forme de films minces, comme matériaux semi-conducteurs. L'étude porte sur la mise en forme de ces films minces réalisés par évaporation sous vide, évaporation de solvant et électrodéposition. Des bancs de mesures automatisés ont été mis en place pour effectuer les mesures électriques sous argon et pour étudierles réponses à l'ammoniac sec ou humide en appliquant des cycles exposition / repos. A partir de ces cycles de 1 min et 4 min, des réponses relatives sont calculées pour obtenir des valeurs proportionnelles aux concentrations d'ammoniac. Les effets de l'humidité seule et de l'ozone ont également été étudiés. Des tests sur la sensibilité croisée ammoniac / humidité ont été réalisés sur quatre résistors différents, dans des gammes de concentration allant de 25 à 90 ppm et dans des gammes d'humidité allant de 0 à 80% d'HR, à température ambiante. Deux d'entre eux, un résistor de phtalocyanine de cobalt (PcCo) et un résistor hybride de phtalocyanine de cobalt sulfonée /polypyrrole (s-PcCo/PPy), ont donné des résultats particulièrement intéressants.PcCo permet de discriminer des concentrations de 25, 45 et 90 ppm d'ammoniac dans une gammede 20 à 60% d'HR, avec une réponse relative de 40% à 45 ppm. De plus, mêmes si les RRs à 80%d'HR divergent légèrement, la discrimination est toujours possible entre les différentesconcentrations de NH3.s-PcCo / PPy est moins sensible à l'ammoniac, mais son étude a permis de démontrer que l'ajout dephtalocyanine dans une matrice polypyrrole augmente la sensibilité de ce matériau. Il donne uneréponse relative de 3,3% à 45 ppm. Cependant, la gamme d'humidité couverte est plus large, allant de 20 à 80% d'HR.Cette étude a donc permis de comparer des matériaux et d'estimer leur potentiel pour des applications au contrôle de la qualité de l'air avec différents taux d'humidité / Many ammonia sensors are available but the consideration of the humidity effect is scarcely insured even by manufacturers. The aim of this thesis is to propose a conductimetric transducer capable tomeasure ammonia selectively, with enough accuracy for air quality control, in a variable humidity environment. To reach this goal, we used thin film resistors made of cobalt phthalocyanines as semiconductor. This study deals with thin films processing made by vacuum evaporation, solventcast and electrodeposition. Automated workbenches were developed to perform electrical measurements under argon and to study the response of sensors to dry or humid ammonia by meansof 1 min / 4 min-long exposure / recovery cycles. From those cycles, relative responses are calculated to obtain values proportional to ammonia concentrations. The humidity and ozone effects are also studied independently as well. Ammonia / humidity cross sensitivity tests are made with four different resistors exposed to ammonia concentration in a 25-90 ppm range and in a 0-80%relative humidity range, under ambient temperature. Two of them, a cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc)resistor and a hybrid resistor made of sulfonated cobalt phthalocyanine / polypyrrole (s-CoPc/PPy)gave interesting results.CoPc allows to discriminate 25, 45 and 90 ppm ammonia concentrations under 20-60% RH range,with a relative response of 40% at 45 ppm. Moreover, even if the RRs at 80% RH shift slightly, it isstill possible to discriminate the different concentrations.s-CoPc / PPy is less sensitive to ammonia but its study allowed to show that adding phthalocyaninein a PPy matrix enhances the sensitivity of this material and gives a RR of 3.3% at 45 ppm.However, the covered humidity range is larger, from 20 to 80% RH. Thus, this study allows to compare molecular materials and estimate their potential for air quality control applications with different humidity levels

Les bâtiments longtemps considérés comme des milieux clos protecteurs, font aujourd’hui l’objet d’avancées scientifiques démontrant leurs impacts climatiques, énergétiques et sanitaires. En tentant de réduire certains de ces impacts, le droit s’étoffe : des obligations juridiques sont créées. Or, l’appréhension juridique de la performance énergétique et de la qualité de l’air intérieur impacte la responsabilité des professionnels du bâtiment. Cette dernière s’inscrit dans plusieurs régimes de responsabilité en fonction de la qualité juridique de la personne qui va chercher à l’engager. Il peut s’agir autant de la puissance publique que du cocontractant des professionnels. Ainsi, la responsabilité des professionnels peut découler, de manière unique ou cumulative, de contrôles régaliens comme de la responsabilité civile, et plus particulièrement du droit des contrats. La présente thèse de doctorat vise à rechercher si les nombreux fondements et régimes de responsabilité permettent de sanctionner l’absence de respect des obligations et donc d’améliorer les qualités énergétiques et sanitaires des bâtiments / Buildings have long been considered closed-in self-protected environments. Today, however, numerous scientific innovations show how they affect climate, energy and health related issues. By trying to reduce their impact on these issues, the law is made more complex, new obligations are created. As it happens, the way the law takes into account energy efficiency and indoor air quality affects building professionals liability. This liability covers several levels of responsibility depending on the legal status of the individual looking to institute the proceedings, whether it be the public sphere or a professional cocontractant. Thus professional liablility may be a result, unique, successive, or cumulative, of state control as well as civil responsability, and more specifically of contract law. This doctoral thesis looks to determine whether the numerous foundations and levels of responsibility enable us to sanction unfulfilled obligations, thus improving buildings'energy and sanitary efficiency

Avec le développement des bâtiments basse consommation de plus en plus hermétiques, la nécessité de renouveler l’air intérieur à l’aide de système de ventilation mécanique s’est accrue. Or, les concentrations en polluants dans les environnements urbains augmentent continuellement, favorisant ainsi le transfert de polluants atmosphériques dans l’air intérieur. Ces travaux de thèse porte sur l’étude de procédés pour l’élimination combinée des principaux polluants de l’air extérieur urbain entrant dans les logements individuels via les systèmes de ventilation. A l’issue d’un état de l’art des polluants de l’air, des systèmes de ventilation et des procédés de traitement, les procédés de filtration par médias fibreux et d’adsorption ont été choisis pour traiter l’air urbain caractérisé par les PM₁₀, les PM₂ ₅, les aérosols microbiens, les BTEX et les NOₓ. Une méthodologie a été mise en œuvre pour sélectionner parmi différents matériaux étudiés et selon des critères de performances la solution de traitement la mieux adaptée, à savoir un filtre F7-combiné en fibres de verre et contenant des grains de charbon actif. Après étude, une stratégie de chauffage journalier du filtre à 70°C durant 1h30 a été proposée pour régénérer partiellement l’adsorbant afin de prolonger sa durée de vie et pour limiter la croissance microbienne sur le filtre notamment par dessiccation de ce dernier. Une campagne expérimentale en conditions de génération multi-polluants contrôlées a permis de quantifier les performances de traitement du filtre F7-combiné. Le traitement thermique utilisé a permis de maintenir une efficacité d’adsorption du toluène de 40% et de limiter la prolifération microbienne sur le filtre. Des interactions entre les polluants ont été observées, notamment une augmentation de l’efficacité de filtration des PM₁₀ par la présence de PM₂ ₅ qui permettent rapidement le passage à la phase de filtration en surface. En outre, le mélange toluène/NO₂ entraine une diminution de l’adsorption du NO₂ au profit du toluène. Enfin, une campagne expérimentale en conditions réalistes a été menée pendant 3 mois afin notamment d’étudier les performances du traitement thermique. Les niveaux de concentration des polluants dans la zone péri-urbaine de l’étude étaient faibles. Le traitement thermique appliqué au filtre F7-combiné, pour les conditions opératoires étudiées et après 3 mois de suivi, a permis de limiter significativement la croissance fongique sur le filtre mais pas d’améliorer de façon significative l’adsorption des COV et des NOₓ. / The development of low energy buildings, which are more and more hermetic, leads to the necessity of indoor air renewal with mechanical ventilation system. However, the concentration of pollutants in urban environments increases continually, which promotes the pollutant transfer from the outdoor to the indoor air. This PhD thesis consists in the study of processes for the combined purification of the main urban outdoor air pollutants coming in individual dwellings through the ventilation systems.Out of a state of the art of the air pollutants, the ventilation systems and the treatment processes, filtration with fibrous media and adsorption were the two processes chosen to treat the urban air characterized by PM₁₀, PM₂ ₅, microbialaerosol, BTEX and NOₓ. A methodology was setup to select, through the different studied materials and with some performance criterion, the most suitable treatment solution i.e. a combined-F7 filter with glass fiber and granular activated carbon. A daily heating strategy of the combined-F7 filter at 70°C for 1h30 was proposed to partially regenerate the adsorbent in order to improve its lifetime and to limit the microbial growth on the filter, inparticular by desiccation.An experimental campaign in controlled conditions with multi-pollutant generation permitted to quantify the performances of the combined-F7 filter. The thermal treatment permitted to maintain the adsorption efficiency of the toluene at 40% and to limit the microbial proliferation. Competitions within pollutants were observed, in particular an increase of the filtration efficiency of PM₁₀ with the presence of PM₂ ₅ by promoting the cake filtration stage. Moreover the mix toluene/NO₂ leads to a decrease of the NO₂ adsorption in favor of the toluene.Finally, an experimental campaign in realistic conditions was conducted for 3 months in particular to study the performances of the thermal treatment. Concentration levels of the pollutants in the suburban area of the study were low. The thermal treatment applied to the combined-F7 filter, with the operating conditions studied and after 3month of follow-up, permitted to significantly limit the fungal growth on the filter but it did not permit to improve significantly the VOC and NOₓ adsorption.

Atmospheric aerosols have adverse effects on human health, air quality, and visibility and frequently result in severe pollution events, particularly in urban areas. However, the sources of aerosols and the processes governing their behaviour in the atmosphere, including those which lead to high concentrations, are not well understood thus limit our ability to accurately assess and forecast air quality. Presented here are the first long-term chemical composition measurements from an urban environment using an Aerodyne compact Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (cToF-AMS). Organic aerosols (OA) were observed to account for a significant fraction (44%) of the total non-refractory submicron mass during 2012 at the urban background site in North Kensington, London, followed by nitrate (28%), sulphate (14%), ammonium (13%), and chloride (1%). The sources and components of OA were determined using Positive Matrix Factorisation (PMF) and attributed as hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking OA (COA), solid fuel OA (SFOA), type 1 oxygenated OA (OOA1), and type 2 oxygenated OA (OOA2), where HOA, COA, and SFOA were observed to be of equal importance across the year. The concentration of secondary OA increased during the summer yet the extent of oxidation, as defined by the oxygen content, showed no variability during the year. The main factors governing the diurnal, monthly, and seasonal trends observed in all organic and inorganic species were meteorological conditions, specific nature of the sources, and availability of precursors. Regional and transboundary pollution influenced total aerosol concentrations and high concentration events were observed to be governed by different factors depending on season. High-Resolution ToF-AMS measurements were used to further probe OA behaviour, where two SFOA factors were derived from PMF analysis in winter, which likely represent differences in burn conditions. In the summer an OA factor was identified, likely of primary origin, which was observed to be strongly associated with organic nitrates and anthropogenic emissions. This work uses instruments and techniques that have not previously been used in this way in an urban environment, where the results further the understanding of the chemical components of urban aerosols. Aerosol sources are likely to change in the future with increases in solid fuel burning as vehicular emissions decrease, with significant implications on air quality and health. Thus it is important to understand aerosol sources and behaviour in order to develop effective pollution abatement strategies.

Poor air quality has been projected to be the world’s top cause of environmental premature mortality by 2050 surpassing poor sanitation and dirty water (IGBP / IGAC press release, 2012 ). One of the major challenges of air quality management is how to adequately quantify both the spatial and temporal variations of pollutants for the purpose of implementing necessary mitigation measures. The work described in this thesis aims to address this problem using novel electrochemical based air quality (AQ) sensors. These instruments are shown to provide cost effective, portable, reliable, indicative measurements for urban air quality assessment as well as for personal exposure studies. Three principal pollutants CO, NO and NO2 are simultaneously measured in each unit of the AQ instrument including temperature / RH measurements as well as GPS (for time and position) and GPRS for data transmission. Laboratory studies showed that the electrochemical sensor nodes can be highly sensitive, showing linear response during calibration tests at ppb level (0-160 ppb). The instrumental detection limits were found to be < 4 ppb (CO and NO) and < 1 ppb for NO2 with fast response time equivalent to t90 < 20 s. Several field studies were carried out involving deployment of both the mobile and static electrochemical sensor nodes. Results from some short-term studies in four different cities including Cambridge (UK), London (UK), Valencia (Spain) and Lagos (Nigeria) are presented. The measurements in these cities represent snapshot of the pollution levels, the stark contrast between the pollution level especially CO (mean mixing ratio of 16 ppm over 3 hrs) in Lagos and the other three cities is a reflection of the poor air quality in that part of the world. Results from long-term AQ monitoring using network of 46 static AQ sensors were used to characterise pollution in different environments ranging from urban to semi-urban and rural locations. By coupling meteorological information (wind measurements) with pollution data, pollution sources, and phenomena like the street canyon effect can be studied. Results from the long-term study also revealed that siting of the current fixed monitoring stations can fail to represent the actual air quality distribution and may therefore be unrepresentative. This work has shown the capability of electrochemical based AQ sensors in complementing the existing fixed site monitors thus demonstrating an emerging measurement paradigm for air quality monitoring and regulation, source attribution and human exposure studies.