Bioaerosols in a Squat Toilet under Various Ventilation Scenarios: Pollution Profile and Self-Developed Plasma Air Purifier Elimination

Le résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Squat toilet flushing generates and spreads potential pathogenic bioaerosols that threaten human health, while ventilation and purifiers are potential approaches to alleviate bioaerosol pollution. This study investigated the pollution characteristics of bioaerosols of squat toilet under various ventilation scenarios and their purification by a self-developed plasma air purifier. The culturable bioaerosol concentrations under the natural and mechanical ventilation scenarios were the highest (632 CFU/m3) and lowest (361 CFU/m3), respectively. The purifier’s removal efficiencies of culturable bioaerosols were 60.82% and 56.70% under closed and natural ventilation, respectively, which were higher than those of mechanical (52.09%) and hybrid ventilation (38.16%). Particle size distribution analysis showed that the closed treatment increased bioaerosols with a size <7 μm, while the purifier reduced bioaerosol levels, especially for 1.1–3.3 μm bioaerosols. Community analysis showed that ventilation and purification treatments exerted no significant alterations to the fungal community structure but decreased the richness and diversity. Environmental factors influenced fungal community removal more than bacterial communities. The 7-day purification treatment achieved higher removal efficiencies for bioaerosol activity, pathogenic microorganisms, and mobile element-containing microbes than the 17- and 27-day treatments. This research provides a guideline for reducing the pollution and health threats of bioaerosols from toilets under varied ventilation and purification scenarios.

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