Diffusion-controlled reference material for VOC emissions testing: validation and application of a mass transfer model

Published

August 30, 2011

Author(s)

Zhe Liu, Cynthia H. Reed, Steven Cox, John Little

Abstract

To reduce indoor exposure to harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), low VOC-emitting products are increasingly in demand. These are usually tested in emission chambers by independent laboratories, but very different profiles are often obtained for the same product tested in different laboratories. There is a compelling need for a reference emission source that can be used to evaluate and calibrate the testing procedures. We have developed a reference material by loading toluene into a polymethyl pentene (PMP) film, which mimics real building products and can be tested in typical emissions chambers (Cox et al., 2010). A unique advantage of this reference material is that the emission profile can be predicted accurately by a fundamental mass transfer model. The predicted emission profile therefore serves as a standard value for validating the measured results by different laboratories and evaluating the test performance. This paper presents the validation of the model and an example application of the model for diagnosing problems of emission testing procedures in a recent pilot inter-laboratory study (ILS).

Proceedings Title

The 12th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate

Conference Dates

June 5-10, 2011

Conference Location

Austin , TX, US

Conference Title

Indoor Air 2011

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

standard source, volatile organic compounds, model, validation

Citation

Liu, Z. , Reed, C. , Cox, S. and Little, J. (2011), Diffusion-controlled reference material for VOC emissions testing: validation and application of a mass transfer model, The 12th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, Austin , TX, US, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=908063 (Accessed April 26, 2024)