Bridging New Air Cleaner Measurement Standards and Indoor Air Quality Simulation: An In-Progress Method in CONTAM

This paper describes an in-progress method to translate air cleaner byproduct emissions data from the 2025 standard testing procedure by ASTM International, developed with the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), into contaminant source characterization in contaminant modeling software. Contaminant transport can be modeled with the NIST multi-zone modeling tool, CONTAM. Desired is a method such that air cleaner chemical and particle byproduct emission behaviors can be precisely represented in an indoor air quality (IAQ) analysis project file. Once in CONTAM, the transport and leakage of contaminants can be simulated within the context of the built environment. Homes, workplaces, and schools can be quickly modeled. Currently, CONTAM model contaminant characterization methods are not directly associated with expected byproduct emissions data from the Standard Test Method for Chemical Assessment of Air Cleaning Technologies. Additionally, it is challenging to model the transient concentrations of gases and particles without a chemistry and aerosol physics background. Thus, this paper aims to bridge the gap between expected measured data and available IAQ simulation. Building professionals who can appropriately model the byproduct emissions of air cleaners can efficiently design healthy environments and communicate risks to the public.