Abstract—Aromatic incense burning, which is aimed to
alleviate some psychological and physical disorders, in indoor
settings has been popular globally, yet the resulting indoor air
pollution and the potential hazards arisen from incense
burning has usually been ignored by most people. To date,
knowledge about aromatic incense burning and the potential
adverse health effects are still limited. Whether the size
distribution of particulate form of combustion products is
determined by the fragrance of aromatic incense burning is not
clear. Accordingly, the present study is aiming to explore the
size distribution of the particulate products from aromatic
incense burning. In this study, three kinds of aromatic incense
(lavender, rose, aglaia) were combusted in a homemade
chamber, the Marple cascade impactor was used to collect
different size ranges of particles and other combustion-related
pollutants. The results of the study indicated that most of the
particles emitted were smaller than PM2.5, regardless the
fragrance of aromatic incense. The major sizes fell within the
range between 1.55μm and 0.93μm and lavender incense was
found to have the greatest emission factor in this size range.
Compared with the regular incenses, aromatic incense burning
has smaller emission factor. This study concludes that the
combustion products of these three fragrances of aromatic
incense are mainly PM2.5 and may pose adverse health effect
when inhaled. Therefore, adequate ventilation is strongly
suggested when aromatic incense is burning and moderate
usage is advised. Moreover, future studies on other popular
fragrances of incense and many more forms of aromatic
products are warranted.
Index Terms—Aromatic incense, particle size distribution,
PM2.5.
Hsin-Yi Lin is with Chang Jung Christian University, Department of
Occupational Safety and Health, Tainan, Taiwan (e-mail:
linone@mail.cjcu.edu.tw).
Der-Jen Hsu is with National Kaohsiung First University of Science and
Technology, Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering,
Kaohisung, Taiwan (e-mail: hsuderjen@nkfust.edu.tw).
Jia-Shan Su is with Unimicron Technology Corporation, Taoyuan,
Taiwan (e-mail: suzanne@gmai.com).
Cite:Hsin-Yi Lin, Der-Jen Hsu, and Jia-Shan Su, "Particle Size Distribution of Aromatic Incense Burning Products," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 6, no.11, pp. 857-860, 2015.