Dapeng Bi

Feb 10, 2025 | nature.com | Zhonghua Zhao |Li Zhu |Yiping Wang |Yong Sun |Dapeng Bi |Qunwu Huang

In the operation of public toilets, a significant amount of ventilation is commonly employed to maintain proper air quality. However, this inevitably leads to energy wastage and compromises the thermal comfort within the area during winter. To enhance and optimize the ventilation of traditional toilets, this research adopts computational fluid dynamics simulation techniques. It conducts both qualitative and quantitative analyses of the performance of toilet bowl ventilation (TBV) technology across various airflow conditions, commode models, H2S and NH3 odors. Additionally, it compares the exhaust effectiveness of different ventilation strategies and evaluates the energy-saving capabilities of the TBV technology. In both models under study, the wind direction was directed towards the interior of the toilet. Even when the mass concentration exceeded the allowable limit, the iso-surface revealed that all excessive H2S and NH3 volumes were successfully contained within the toilet bowl. The findings indicate that by applying TBV technology in public toilets, the airflow can be reduced to 10 m³/h during toilet usage while still fulfilling the requirements for air quality and energy conservation. This method exhibits a thermal energy saving efficiency of 8.2 W/°C. This investigation effectively minimizes air heat dissipation resulting from the ventilation process and reduces fan power consumption while ensuring proper effluent discharge, thus laying a solid foundation for the promotion and application of the TBV technology.