Abstract
The emission rates of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured to investigate the emission characteristics of five types of common furniture products using a 5 m3 size chamber at 25°C and 50% humidity. The results indicated that toluene and α-pinene are the most dominant components. The emission rates of individual components decreased constantly through time, approaching the equilibrium emission level. The relative ordering of their emission rates, if assessed in terms of total VOC (TVOC), can be arranged as follows: dining table > sofa > desk chair > bedside table > cabinet. If the emission rates of VOCs are examined between different chemical groups, they can also be arranged in the following order: aromatic (AR) > terpenes (TER) > carbonyl (CBN) > others > paraffin (PR) > olefin (HOL) > halogenated paraffin (HPR). In addition, if emission strengths are compared between coated and uncoated furniture, there is no significant difference in terms of emission magnitude. Our results indicate that the emission characteristics of VOC are greatly distinguished between different furniture products in terms of relative dominance between different chemicals.
Highlights
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have received a great deal of attention due to high abundances and associated impact on health, especially in indoor environments [1, 2]
As volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be produced from various materials used in residential households, they can affect human health to varying degrees [9]
The emission rates for the materials are estimated by considering a particular flow of air passing through the unit in the test chamber
Summary
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have received a great deal of attention due to high abundances and associated impact on health, especially in indoor environments [1, 2]. The pattern of VOC emissions, if assessed between source materials or between chemical components, can vary greatly between materials under diverse conditions [10, 11]. Frequent usage of certain furniture products in every normal day may increase the rate of exposure to reactive substances and secondary products released or produced in indoor air [12]. This type of exposure can lead to many common symptoms, for example, acute respiratory infections, lung disease, allergies, and so forth [13,14,15,16].
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