A New Experimental Method for the Determination of Emittable Initial VOC Concentrations in Building Materials and Sorption Isotherms for IVOCs

Abstract

This paper describes a new experimental method for determining the initial concentrations of emittable volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials and sorption isotherms for individual VOCs (IVOCs), which are required for modeling the VOC emission rates of building materials and assemblies. The method is also useful for the rapid screening of materials, enabling manufacturers to compare different production processes in order to reduce VOC emissions from their products. In this experimental method, material specimens were first ground into powder form in a sealed container and then allowed to emit in a recirculation loop to measure equilibrium concentrations at different levels, as well as the accumulated emission mass. Test results for particle board are presented, and compared to those obtained from a 30 day small chamber emission test for the same material. Results showed that the extraction method significantly increased the release of VOCs from the material and can be used to determine the total emittable initial VOC concentrations and the sorption isotherms for acetaldehyde and hexanal. For formaldehyde, the residual amount after the extraction test was found to be significant, and requires further investigation. Further studies are needed to shorten the test time and determine the accuracy and repeatability of the extraction method.

Materials responsible for formaldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions

“…For the multi-fl ushing extraction method, the building materials were fi rst ground into powder and then placed in an airtight chamber, and the subsequent procedures were similar to those of the multi-emission/fl ush regression method (Smith et al, 2008). The test continues until the equilibrium chamber air concentration of the last cycle is less than 10% of that of the fi rst cycle so that most of the VOCs are extracted from the materials.…”

Impact of temperature on the initial emittable concentration of formaldehyde in building materials: experimental observation

“…However, the experimental system is quite complicated, and there is some concern that the properties of the material may change when ground to a powder. Smith et al. (2008) developed an extraction method to determine the C m,0 .…”

“…However, the experimental system is quite complicated, and there is some concern that the properties of the material may change when ground to a powder. Smith et al (2008) developed an extraction method to determine the C m,0 . These tests often took a long time (4 weeks), and in the last few cycles, the uncertainty of the measurement was prone to increase because of the very low VOC concentrations in the chamber.…”

Understanding and controlling airborne organic compounds in the indoor environment: mass transfer analysis and applications

“…Given that this finding may lead to important applications, we recommend that further research in this area be directed to the development of an analytical or experimental method that can independently verify the current method for estimating C 0 . The extraction methods (Smith et al., ; Xiong et al., ) for determining C 0 could yield helpful comparisons.…”