Estimates of parameters for formaldehyde emission model from plywood panel under various temperature and relative humidity conditions

Abstract

The initial emittable concentration, Cm,0, the material phase diffusion coefficient, Dm, and the air/material partition coefficient, K, are the key parameters used to predict the formaldehyde emissions from indoor building materials. This work presents formaldehyde emission experiments of plywood panels in a climatic chamber under various environmental conditions, which provides information on how relative humidity, temperature, and loading degree affect the formaldehyde emission. The experimental results showed that formaldehyde concentration in the climatic chamber increased rapidly during the initial 3 h, and then reached equilibrium after 7 h. The equilibrium concentration of formaldehyde in the closed chamber was increased by 1.1–1.3 times with the relative humidity increased by 20%, and 1.3–2.5 times with the temperature increased by 5 °C, respectively. In agreement with the experimental treatment, a new method of estimating parameters was carried out in a theoretical model from formaldehyde emission, opening the way to a factorial analysis of the relevant parameters for relative humidity and temperature. The theoretical model with estimated parameters was further validated by experiments with different environmental conditions, which should help to quickly determine the parameters needed to predict formaldehyde emissions.