Emissions of total volatile organic compounds from pressed wood products in an environmental chamber

An environmental chamber was used to characterise the emissions of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) from pressed wood products. One type of plywood, three types of hardboards and one type of particleboard were investigated. To compare the emissions of TVOCs with pressed wood products, a PVC board, often used as floor covering, was also measured. The temporal change of TVOCs concentrations was tested. The quantity of TVOCs emissions was measured by a Gas Chromatography/Flame Ionisation Detector (GC-FID). A double-exponential equation was used to evaluate the characteristics of TVOCs emissions from these pressed wood products. With this double-exponential model, the initial emission rates (E10 and E20) and emission decay constants (k1 and k2) in evaporation-dominated and diffusion-dominated phases were simulated. These emission parameters could be used in estimation of TVOCs concentrations in an indoor environment. Model evaluation studies indicate that the hardboard I has the smallest model accuracy while the plywood and PVC board have the largest model accuracy.