Interlaboratory Comparison of Formaldehyde Emissions from Particleboard Underlayment in Small-Scale Environmental Chambers

摘要

The paper gives results of measurements of formaldehyde (CH2O) emissions from particleboard underlayment in 0.17 and 0.2 cu m chambers at separate laboratories to test the comparability of small scale environmental chamber measurements under different ventilation and product loading conditions. Absolute CH2O calibration was established through intermethod comparison of different monitoring techniques against a CH2O generation apparatus. Interlaboratory precision was enhanced via co-calibration of each laboratory's CH2O colorimetric analyzer against the same blank and bi-level generation source at the beginning and end of the study. The results show excellent intermethod and interlaboratory agreement in both the CH2O calibration and particleboard emissions testing. The CH2O emission rates of the test specimens demonstrate a Fick's Law dependence on CH2O vapor concentration. Measured CH2O concentrations are described by a single-compartment, single-emitter model, and are inversely proportional to the ratio of the air exchange rate and product loading. (Copyright (c) 1987 JAPCA.)