Control of emission rates of chemical compounds emitted by controlling their mass transfer coefficients on the surface of the tested building material

Abstract

The air change rate in the chamber, the loading factor of the materials, and the mass transfer coefficient are very important factors in the measurement of chemical compounds, because they have a decisive effect on emission rates of chemical compounds emitted from materials. Small 20-liter chambers, such as the advanced pollution and air quality chamber, are generally used in Korea and Japan for measuring the amount of released chemicals. In this study, chemical compounds released from building materials and adhesives were measured using a chamber proposed by the authors to control the mass transfer coefficient on the surface of the tested building material and we examined the distribution of chemical compounds concentrations in the chamber by means of computational fluid dynamics to confirm test reliability. The chamber was controlled and maintained at 28 °C, a relative humidity of 50%, a mass transfer coefficient of 14 m/h with an air change rate of 0.50 h⁻¹, and formaldehyde and total volatile organic compounds were emitted from the flooring material and adhesive. As the mass transfer coefficient on the surface of the tested building material increased, the emission rates of chemical compounds measured using the proposed chamber increased. The mass transfer coefficient on the surface of the tested building material significantly influenced the emission rates of the chemical compounds released from the building material and adhesive.

Keywords:

• adhesive
• flooring materials
• emission test
• mass transfer coefficient

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MEST) (No. 2011-0020027), (No. 2012-0000609).