Characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from building materials to improve indoor air quality: focused on natural VOCs

Abstract

To protect public health from indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exposure, it is critical to estimate the emission rate and characteristic by indoor building materials. To this end, four different types of lumbers (Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Cryptomeria japonica, and Larix leptolepis) and four different types of artificial building materials (particleboard (PB), medium density fiberboard (MDF), plywood of Radiata Pine (PRP), and plywood of Oceania Timber (POT)) were used. Total VOC (TVOC) from lumbers, excluding P. koraiensis, showed the highest level of emissions on the first day, and the level tended to decline with the passage of time. In particular, TVOC from P. densiflora showed the highest level at 10,793 μg/m2 · h and only 40 % of TVOC reduced even after 14 days. On the other hand, TVOC from artificial building materials showed lower levels of emissions in the order of MDF > PRP > PB > POT. Furthermore, The TVOC emissions from lumbers were approximately 1.3–47.6 times higher than those of artificial building materials. However, the levels emitted from P. densiflora and P. koraiensis stabilized afterwards, and the natural VOC beneficial to the human body was confirmed to exceed 90 %, most of which comprised α-pinene, β-pinene, d-limonene, camphene, and α-terpinene.