Abstract
Headspace technique and gas chromatography method with mas detector has been used for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted from various building and finishing materials, such as sealing foams, mounting strips, paints, varnishes, floor coverings. The tests were carried out for different temperatures (in the temperature range of 60 to 180 °C) and the time of heated vials with tested materials inside. These tests were conducted to verify the possibility of use this method of determination the VOC emission. Interpretation of chromatograms and mass spectra allowed to identify the type of compounds emitted from the tested materials and the optimum time and temperature for each type of material was determined. The increase in heating temperature of the samples resulted in increase the type and number of identified compounds: for four materials the increase was in the whole temperature range, for others it was from 90 °C. On the other hand, emission from mineral wool was low in whole temperature range. 30-minutes heating of the samples was sufficient to identify emitted compounds for most of tested materials. Applying a longer time, i.e. 24 hours, significantly increased the sensitivity of the method.
Highlights
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) may be one of the factors that may adversely affect indoor air quality and in the extreme case they can lead to symptoms of the so-called "Sick building syndrome"
The studies presented in this paper have been performed to verify the applicability of the Headspace method in combination with GC-MS for identification VOC emitted from interior materials
If the purpose of research is to improve air quality, it is necessary to identify the source of emission, i.e. to identify the VOC emitting material, to be able to remove the source of emission from the room
Summary
Volatile organic compounds (VOC) may be one of the factors that may adversely affect indoor air quality and in the extreme case they can lead to symptoms of the so-called "Sick building syndrome". Parallel testing of indoor and outdoor air only allows you to statement if the source of the emission is in the test room. Emissions test from materials are typically carried out in emission chambers at a steady gas flow and humidity [5,6,7,8,9]. VOC emission tests use thermal desorption, ie the release of volatile compounds from the solid under the influence of heat [10, 11]
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