VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) EMISSIONS FROM SOURCES IN A PARTITIONED OFFICE ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR IMPACT ON IAQ

摘要

Mid and full-scale stainless steel chambers were used to characterize emission sources in a part itioned office environment, including personal computers, printers, copiers, office workstation components (desk, cabinet,partition panels), chairs and carpet. Major compounds emitted from these sources include: 1,3-dichlorobenzene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, p-xylene, pentadecane, phenol, styrene and toluene. Results show the emission rates for computers were 10 to 120 times higher when they were on than off. The computers with CRT monitors emitted slightly more than those with TFT monitors. The emission rates for the copiers and printers can be negligible during the offand idle periods compared to the on period. The emissions from the furniture components decreased slowly over time, following a power-law decay curve. Simulations indicated that operation of the copier, printer and computer would contribute most to the total VOC concentrations and several individual VOCs including ethylbenzene, pentadecane, styrene and toluene in a typical office environment.