Behavior of VOCs and Carbonyl Compounds Emission from Different Types of Wallpapers in Korea

Jungyun Lim, Suejin Kim, ARong Kim, Wooseok Lee, Jinseok Han and Jun-Seok Cha
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Jungyun Lim: Environmental Infrastructure Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Korea
Suejin Kim: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Korea
ARong Kim: Environmental Infrastructure Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Korea
Wooseok Lee: Environmental Infrastructure Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Korea
Jinseok Han: Climate and Atmospheric Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Korea
Jun-Seok Cha: Environmental Infrastructure Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), 42 Hwankyeong-Ro, Seo-gu, Incheon 404-708, Korea

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbonyls from three types of commercially available wallpapers ( i.e. , PVC-coated, paper-backed, natural material-coated) in Korea were evaluated using a 20 L small chamber. A total of 332 products were tested for emission factors, frequencies of occurrence and composition ratios. Toluene and formaldehyde concentrations were below Korean standard values for all products; however, the total VOC (TVOC) concentrations exceeded current standards (4.0 mg/m 2 ·h) for 30 products. The TVOC emission factor for PVC-coated wallpapers, for which polymer materials are used in the manufacturing process, was seven and 16 times higher than those of paper-backed and natural material-coated wallpapers, respectively. The detection frequencies for toluene and formaldehyde were the highest (82.5%) and fourth highest (79.5%), respectively among the 50 target chemical species. The composition ratios for BTEX ranged from 0.3% to 5.1% and unidentified VOCs, which were not qualitatively analyzed using standard gas methods, ranged from 90.2% to 94.8%. Among six carbonyl compounds (acrolein was not detected in any type of wallpaper), acetone had the highest concentrations in PVC-coated (44.6%) and paper-backed (66.6%) wallpapers. Formaldehyde emissions were highest (64.6%) for natural material-coated wallpapers, a result of the formaldehyde-based resin used in the manufacturing process for these products.

Keywords: building materials; wallpaper; volatile organic compounds; carbonyl compounds; small chamber (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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