The miniaturised emission chamber system and home-made passive flux sampler studies of monoaromatic hydrocarbons emissions from selected commercially-available floor coverings

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Building and Environment, Volume 123
Author(s): Mariusz Marć, Jacek Namieśnik, Bożena Zabiegała
The estimation of the emission rate of organic compounds released from various types of indoor materials can be performed using stationary environmental test chambers (ETC) classified as ex-situ methods or small-scale portable analytical devices based on the use of passive technique at the stage of analytes sampling from the gaseous phase (in-situ methods). The paper presents results of emissions of selected organic compounds from the monoaromatic hydrocarbons group (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p,m-xylene and styrene) emitted from the surfaces of various types of commercially-available floor coverings and the underlay made of polyurethane foam which might be installed indoors under floor coverings. The research were conducted simultaneously using a new type of miniature emission chambers system μ-CTE™ 250 and a new type of home-made passive flux sampler (PFS). The interpretation and comparison of the obtained results allowed for determination of main factors that significantly affect the result of analysis and, ultimately, on the reliability of emission assessments, which included: the operation mode of the analytical device, the duration of studies and metrological and morphological characteristics of the studied samples. It was observed that in a case of floor coverings with synthetic fibres, the emission rate is influenced by factors such as: the fleece/pile weight (g/m²), the type of synthetic material used for fibre production, the colour of fibres and the applied underlay type (felt or synthetic jute). In a case of flexible floor coverings made of poly(vinyl chloride), the thickness of the abrasive layer influenced the quantity of released organic compounds.

Graphical abstract