Furniture emission test chambers

Formaldehyde as a pollutant in the indoor air is usually connected with the use of formaldehyde based resins in e.g. building materials and in furniture. This article presents measurements of the formaldehyde emission from various products containing urea-formaldehyde (UF) or phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins. The emission from all test objects have been measured in a ventilated test chamber at the standardized testing atmosphere 23 C, 50 % RH according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The emission from woodbased panels and other materials have been measured at a loading factor of 1.0 m /m and at an air change rate of 1.0 h . ... 

Furnishing. The formaldehyde level in a room at actual conditions depends on several factors, and is not an arithmetical sum of various sources (10), (11). In order to estimate the contribution of formaldehyde emission from single pieces of furniture the test objects have been exposed in area to air volume proportions to which they can be found in a small room or a kitchen. The assumption that the formaldehyde level in the chamber and in the actual room is the same, is based on a theoretical model originally developed for particle boards (4). At constant climate the emission from a test object is determined of the relation between the loading factor and the air change rate. 

Figure 1.9-1. Concentration vs time profile for the emission of DEGME from a water-based lacquer system for furniture coating. The substrate was particle board covered with oak veneer. Test chamber conditions 23 °C, 45 % rel. humidity, 1 h air exchange, Im /m loading (Fuhrmann and Salthammer, 1998).

Figure 3.3-4. Concentration vs time profiles for emission of selected VOCs from coated surfaces and cabinet furniture. A limonene (ECO, painting) B tripropyleneglycol diacrylate (UV-cured, roller coating) C benzophenone (UV-cured, roller coating) D l-butanol-3-methoxy-acetate (NC, spray coating). The upper and lower curves in C and D represent cabinet air and chamber air, respectively. The test chamber conditions were T =23 °C, r.h. = 45 %, V = 1.0 h L = 1.0 rrfixtf.

Salthammer T. (1996b) VOC emissions from cabinet furnitures. Comparison of concentrations in the test chamber and in the cabinet. In Yoshizawa S., Kimura K., Ikeda K., Tanabe S. and Iwata T. (eds) Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Indoor Air and Climate, Vol. 3, 567-572, Nagoya. 

Emissions of solvents from wood products are described imder various conditions, e.g. indoor air emissions from furniture or emissions in test chambers. Solvents can be emitted as primary or reactive products of the wood product or the coating system solvents can also be investigated as secondary emission products. The emission characteristics depend on solvent properties and surrounding conditions, e.g., air velocity and air exchange rate. ... 

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