Characterization of VOC and formaldehyde emissions from furniture products: test chamber measurement and real indoor emission

摘要

French authorities decided to establish a mandatory requirement for the labelling of volatile emissions from furniture. But, there was a lack of data on pollutants emitted by furniture. Consequently, the French Ministry of Environment has mandated the industrial technological center for Forest, Pulp, Wood in Timber & Furniture (FCBA) to characterize VOC and formaldehyde emissions from furniture, especially for children use (nursery, school, household). For this purpose, 26 pieces of furniture were tested according to ISO 16000 Standard series. For each product, a complete furniture unit was tested in a large-scale test chamber and a second one was disassembled to test separately each component in smaller chambers. Emission rates from complete furniture products were compared to the sum of emission rates of all their constitutive components. Emissions from furniture products representative of a child bedroom (chest of drawers, bed with slatted base and mattress, desk) were also tested together in a large-scale test chamber and in a real indoor environment (test house) during 28 days. Results showed that formaldehyde concentrations measured in the large-scale test chamber were higher than in the test house. Several factors, like ambient conditions and surface deposition effects, can explain differences between emissions characterized in realistic environments and in test chambers.