Sampling Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Consumer Products: A Review

Figures & data

Table 1. Physical parameters of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in relation to their emissions from representative products, as encountered in indoor settings.

VOC	Boiling point (°C)	Matrix	Dm (m^2/s)	Km,a	Da (m^2/s)	h (m/s)	Ref.
Toluene	111^[^197^]	Vinyl flooring	6.9 × 10^-13	980 at 25.6 °C		–	^[^68^]
Toluene	111^[^197^]	Polymethyl pentene	3.6 × 10^-14	370 at 25 °C		–	^[^62^]
Toluene	111^[^197^]	Wallboard	6.8 × 10^-9	24		4.7 × 10^-5	^[^69^]
Toluene	111^[^197^]	Air			8.49 × 10^-6	–	^[^198^]
Phenol	182^[^199^]	Vinyl flooring	1.2 × 10^-13	120,000		–	^[^68^]
1,2,4-Trimethyl-benzene	169^[^200^]	Wallboard	6.45 × 10^-9	1100		7.27 × 10^-5	^[^69^]
n-Butanol	118^[^201^]	Vinyl flooring	6.7 × 10^-13	810		–	^[^68^]
n-Butanol	118^[^201^]	Air			8.61 × 10^-6	–	^[^198^]

VOC: volatile organic compound; D_m: diffusion coefficient in the material; K_m,a: partition coefficient sample material/air; D_a: diffusion coefficient in the air; h: convective mass transfer coefficient.

Figure 1. Physical processes involved in the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from solid materials into indoor/test chamber air. VOC emissions are characterized by three main processes: internal diffusion (characterized by the diffusion coefficient, D_m), partitioning between the sample material surface and the surrounding air (characterized by the partition coefficient, K_m,a) and external diffusion/convection (characterized by the convective mass transfer coefficient, h). The VOC depicted in this schematic is ortho-xylene.

Table 2. Comparison of sampling methods for VOC emissions from solid material consumer products, indicating their potentials and limitations.

Method	Adjustable test conditions (temperature, air exchange, humidity)	Determination of realistic emissions data	Automated sampling process and transfer to GC-MS system	Max. sample size area	In situ measurements	Time and cost efficiency	Examples of applications for solid consumer products
S-HS^a	▪	▪	▪▪▪	▪	▪	▪▪▪	Various different consumer products including toys and shoes,^[^15^] printed matter ^[^118^]
HS-SPME^b	▪	▪	▪▪▪	▪	▪▪▪	▪▪	Book,^[^132^] scented toys,^[^40^] plastic and rubber materials^[^134^]
DHS^c	▪▪	▪▪	▪▪▪	▪	▪	▪▪	Toys,^[^21^,^42^,^50^] solid air freshener,^[^13^,^41^] printed matter^[^118^]
Sampling bags (passive sampling)	▪	▪	▪	▪▪	▪▪▪	▪▪	Plastic and rubber materials,^[^134^] toys,^[^22^,^141^] light bulbs^[^142^]
Large scale chambers	▪▪▪	▪▪▪	▪	▪▪▪	▪	▪	Reference material,^[^23^,^150^] plastic toys^[^42^]
Small scale chambers	▪▪▪	▪▪▪	▪	▪▪	▪	▪	Candles,^[^93^,^155^] printing products^[^93^,^118^]
Microchambers	▪▪▪	▪▪	▪	▪	▪	▪▪	Polymer materials,^[^23^,^45^] toy gifts in chocolate snacks,^[^24^] plastic lids for coffee-to-go cups^[^168^]
FLEC^d	▪▪▪	▪▪	▪	▪	▪▪▪	▪▪	–
PFS^e	▪	▪▪	▪	▪	▪▪▪	▪▪	–
HS-SE^f/HS-STE^g	▪	▪	▪▪	▪	▪▪▪	▪▪	–
▪	Max. one adjustable parameter (temperature)	Data do not display real emission values	Not automatable	max. up to several cm^2	Not possible	Time and cost intensive
▪▪	Two adjustable parameters	Data correlate with real emission values	Partly automatable	cm^2 ̶ dm^2	–	Moderately time and cost efficient
▪▪▪	All three parameters adjustable	Data are very close to real emission values	Completely automatable	dm^2 ̶ m^2	Possible	Time and cost efficient

^aStatic headspace.

^bHeadspace solid phase microextraction.

^cDynamic headspace.

^dField and laboratory emission cell.

^ePassive flux sampler.

^fHeadspace sorptive extraction.

^gHeadspace sorptive tape extraction.

Figure 2. Headspace and bag sampling methods covered in this review article for the analysis of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.

Figure 3. Overview of emission test chamber methods for the analysis of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.

Figure 4. Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from polymer‐based consumer products: Comparison of three emission chamber sizes. Reproduced from Even et al.^[23] under public license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.).

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