Volatile organic compounds and odor emissions characteristics of building materials and comparisons with the on-site measurements during interior construction stages

Abstract

Indoor air quality (IAQ) of newly constructed buildings is mainly affected by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from building materials introduced during interior construction. However, there are few studies in which detailed information is available on both the construction process and individual building materials, which are essential for simulating and validating indoor VOC emissions. In this study, eight building materials used in the interior construction of a finished residential unit in Nanjing, China, were tested in an environmental chamber. The VOCs and odor emission characteristics of the materials were analyzed and compared with the on-site measurements. Emission parameters of the building materials were regressed, the emission rate and total emission amount were calculated. The results showed that aldehydes were the main compounds in all the materials, accounting for 35.21% of emissions, on average. Among the aldehydes, formaldehyde was the main component, with a relative proportion ranging 32.91%–91.38% of total aldehydes. “Wet” materials were the main source of short-term VOC emissions at 24 h, and the wood floor was the main source of long-term emissions at 720 h. The “wet” materials contributed more to odor than “dry” materials. Aldehydes were the main target odorants, octanal was the largest odor contributor. The odor effect may last longer than the VOC concentration, according to the odor activity value variations. The differences in the material substrate, ambient conditions, and ventilation conditions may be the reasons for the difference in VOCs and odor source identification results between the construction stage and the environmental chamber test.