Blood concentrations of 11 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured up to four times over 2 years in a probability sample of more than 150 children from two poor, minority neighborhoods in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Blood levels of benzene, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethene, and m-/p-xylene were comparable with those measured in selected adults from the Third National Health and Nutriti...

Consider binary and ternary mixtures of aromatic compounds composed of benzene/toluene and benzene/toluene/p-xylene, respectively. The present study shows how one can apply both mass and energy balance equations in order to understand the separation of such ideal mixtures by distillation. An adiabatic flash distillation problem is solved graphically for a mixture composed of benzene/toluene. Ri...

High selectively catalytic conversion of lignin-based phenols (m-cresol, p-cresol, and guaiacol) into para-/m-xylene was performed over Pt/HZSM-5 through hydrodeoxygenation and in situ methylation with methanol. It is found that the p-/m-xylene selectivity is uniformly higher than 21%, and even increase up to 33.5% for m-cresol (with phenols/methanol molar ratio of 1/8). The improved p-/m-xylen...

This paper presents the successful design and implementation of several exhaust ventilation systems in a paint manufacturing factory. The ventilation systems were designed based on American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists recommendations. The duct works, fans, and other parts were made and mounted by local manufacturers. The concentrations of toluene and xylene as the common so...

We thank the reviewers for their comments. We have made changes to the text to address these comments. In particular, we have reorganized Sections 4.2 (Effect of oxidation rate) and 4.3 (General mechanisms of SOA formation) to further clarify the rate effect and the multiple steps in SOA formation. All changes made are minor, and they do not change the conclusion of the manuscript. Responses to...

Up to 0.4 mM 1,3-dimethylbenzene (m-xylene) was rapidly mineralized in a laboratory aquifer column operated in the absence of molecular oxygen with nitrate as an electron acceptor. Under continuous flow conditions, the degradation rate constant (pseudo-first order) was >0.45 h. Based on a carbon mass balance with [ring-C]m-xylene and a calculation of the electron balance, m-xylene was shown to ...