Performance test for evaluating the reduction of VOCs in rooms and evaluating the lifetime of sorptive building materials

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of sorptive building materials in reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in air using a small test chamber. Air containing a low concentration of VOCs was supplied and any decrease in the VOC concentrations was measured at the exhaust. Seven different types of building materials were investigated: activated carbon, gypsum board mixed with a given quantity of activated carbon, board made out of activated carbon, humidity-controlling porous ceramic material, humidity-controlling silicate calcium, ceramic tile and ordinary gypsum board. We examined the sorptive performance on a mix of gases (toluene, ethylbenzene, p-xylene and styrene) in a room. Activated carbon layer was one of the sorptive building materials, and effectively reduced VOC concentrations. We measured the sorption isotherm using the sorption breakthrough capacity test, which is an effective method of evaluating the long-term reduction performance of sorptive building materials and can be measured in a relatively short period of a few hours. Experiments show that sorptive building materials are fairly effective in reducing VOC concentrations in rooms, and that this effect can be expected in practical applications.