Hot Cooking Oil Droplets May Contribute to Air Pollution
Marie Donlon | November 20, 2017
Impingement and vaporization of a 5-millimeter water droplet onto a 3-millimeter film of hot canola oil. The image to the right, shot just half a second after the water first contacts the oil, shows a plethora of droplets that are released. Some droplets are submicron and can remain airborne for more than 30 minutes. Source: Marston Research Group, Texas Tech UniversityHot oil droplets that often leap from the frying pan as we cook have the potential to not only cause painful burns. They also have the potential to contribute to indoor air pollution, according to a recent study.
Researchers from Texas Tech University and Utah State University are presenting their findings at the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics, being held Nov. 19-21, 2017, in Denver, Colorado.
"We've discovered that a very large number of small oil droplets are released when even a single, small droplet of water comes into contact with hot oil," said Jeremy Marston, an assistant professor at Texas Tech University.
Using a thin layer of canola, peanut or soybean oil, the researchers measured the temperature with a thermocouple as part of their experiment.
“Then, we inject a small droplet of water and record the event with a high-speed video camera," Marston said. "The resulting phenomena is dramatic — you can see the explosive release when the water, trapped under the oil, vaporizes all of a sudden. This causes the oil film to rupture and sends oil droplets flying."
The team determined that the oil droplets can be hazardous because they are small enough to inhale.
"It's known that millions of deaths worldwide occur due to indoor air pollution, but we don't know yet how much cooking in poorly ventilated kitchens contributes to it," Marston said. "We're planning to conduct a detailed study to quantify how much impact kitchen-based aerosols have on indoor air pollution. Ultimately, we hope that our research can guide designs for improved ventilation systems to remove these ultrafine aerosols."
Marsten continued: "To explore the fundamental science, we'll perform three-dimensional volumetric imaging and thermal imaging to assess the dispersion of the aerosols released in cooking," he said. "We'll also perform some preliminary trials using a new air curtain that could be integrated into current ventilation systems. And since some of the droplets are inhalable and potentially hazardous, we're also planning to use an 'aerosol particle sizer' that can measure down to the nanometer sizes to see just how small these particles can be."
Isn't the above a truism?
"It's known that millions of deaths worldwide occur due to indoor air pollution,"
Is there a reference for this? (Because I don't believe it)
I hope my tax dollars didn't go into this ridiculously unnecessary study.
In reply to #2
Sure, millions do die from indoor air pollution . . . . when they smoke at home.
In reply to #3
Looking at it that way, I can see it.
That seems like an outlandish statement though. I really wonder what the original author had in mind saying such a thing? Probably never know.
In reply to #4
It is outlandish. Have a great Thanksgiving.
In reply to #6
You too my friend!
So clearly we need to ban all cooking with any type of oil. It’s a wonder that any of us even exist given that people using oil to cook has probably been around since day 3!
or, maybe tell people not to drop water on hot oil? Let’s do a study.
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