Field experimental investigation of temperature, humidity and solar radiation impacts on Formaldehyde Emission from interior furnishing material (particle board): A Preliminary Study

Syracuse, NY

Some part of indoor space components such as furniture and surfaces (like walls and floor carpet) contains contaminants and emit them over time. The emission is affected by different environmental factors like temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation. As a result, three field experiments are conducted to assess the impact of these environmental factors on Formaldehyde emission. This study referred to previous literature on measuring volatile compound emission from wood stain using balance scale. Consequently, a similar test setup (balance scale) is adopted to investigate formaldehyde emission from test sample which is exposed to solar radiation in fully controlled test buildings. Two identical particle-board test samples are prepared and one of them placed inside a test building in which the window is fully covered whereas the other test sample is installed in a building which is not covered so that it is exposed to solar radiation to the maximum extent. Moreover, Formaldehyde meter captures the concentration inside the test room release from the test sample. The result shows that the test room with 23oC depicts slightly more formaldehyde in comparison to a room with 18oC. Whereas, both rooms with 50% and 70% RH shows similar Formaldehyde concentration between 20 ppb and 25 ppb.

https://surface.syr.edu/ibpc/2018/MS7/4