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

Abstract

The initial emittable concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOC) is a key parameter not only in evaluating the 'green' degree of building materials but also in modeling their emission characteristics. Although the impact of temperature on initial emittable concentration is important, it has not been reported in the literature. Using the multi-emission/flush regression method we developed, the impact of temperature on the initial emittable concentration of formaldehyde in medium density board has been experimentally studied. It is observed that the initial emittable concentration increases significantly with increasing temperature. When the temperature rises by 25.4°C, it increases by about 507%. However, the initial emittable concentration at room temperature is far less than the value measured by the perforator method recommended by the Chinese National Standard GB/T 17657-1999, which measures the total concentration of formaldehyde in medium density board. This means most of formaldehyde in the building material cannot emit out at room temperature. The results will be very helpful in estimating the emission characteristics of building materials at different temperatures as well as for developing green building materials. Knowledge of initial emittable concentration is important for VOC emission prediction. According to our experimental study, the initial emittable concentration is heavily dependent on temperature, and this factor should be considered in dealing with heating or cooling process of building materials. The significant difference between the initial emittable concentration and total concentration suggests that the total concentration seems not appropriate for judging the pollution level of building materials.