Characteristics of Particles from Different Household Cooking Activities

Household cooking is a dominant source of indoor aerosols and an important contributor to human exposure, yet systematic comparisons among commonly used cooking methods remain limited. Here, we investigated emissions from a pan, an air fryer, and an oven under controlled residential conditions with constant chicken quantity and varying oil quantity and marination. The pan generated the highest PM2.5 concentrations and mass-based emission rates, whereas the air fryer emitted moderate levels and the oven had minimal emissions. Variations in PM2.5 mass concentration are tightly associated with the size distribution of emitted particles, with diameter (dp) peaking at 120–140 nm, 55–62 nm, and 20–30 nm from the pan, air fryer, and oven, respectively. Oil quantity and marination substantially affected mass-based emissions, whereas number concentrations were not substantially influenced. Organic compounds dominated the aerosols, and spectral marker ratios (f55/f57, f67/f69) clearly differentiated them from ambient aerosols. Based on the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) model with particle hygroscopic growth, the air fryer produced the highest particle number dose, while pan frying generated the largest mass and surface area dose, with over 50% depositing in the alveolar region. These findings demonstrate that cooking method is a critical determinant of indoor particle exposure and that different cooking methods present distinct exposure profiles depending on the metric considered.