Development of a fast and simple predictive tool for evaluating emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC)

 
Today the quality of the air inside buildings is at the heart of much legislative consideration. This means that manufacturers are obliged to evaluate their materials using appropriate methods. However, it so happens that the current reference methods used are particularly expensive and require qualified and experienced staff. The aim of this report is to present the initial feasibility results for a new standardised measurement tool that supplements, but does not replace, current reference methods. This tool will provide fast and sufficiently accurate information to be able to categorise paints and varnishes based on their emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC). A tool such as this will be of value not only to manufacturers for evaluating their products at the development stage, but it will also be essential to inspection bodies responsible for verifying the many paint products on the market. The tool (VOC BOX) currently being developed at CoRI consists of a portable device that is simple to use and which enables the total VOC emitted by a paint or varnish to be determined without having to resort to additional analysis techniques in the laboratory.