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VOC sink behaviour on building materials--model evaluation
Citation:
LIU, X., Z. GUO, L. E. SPARKS, AND N. F. ROACHE. VOC sink behaviour on building materials--model evaluation. Indoor and Built Environment. SAGE Publications, THOUSAND OAKS, CA, 20(6):661-676, (2011).
Impact/Purpose:
journal article
Description:
The event of 11 September 2001 underscored the need to study the vulnerability of buildings to weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including chemical, biological, physical, and radiological agents. Should these agents be released inside a building, they would interact with interior surfaces, building materials, and furnishings, and could remain for a long period in an indoor environment. In this study, the sink effect was investigated with building materials (e.g. painted gypsum wallboard, vinyl flooring, carpet, mortar) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ethylbenzene, 1-butanol, decane, and dodecane, which were used as surrogates of toxic chemicals. It is observed that vinyl flooring has the strongest sink for ethylbenzene and dodecane. The sink experimental data were employed to evaluate the Langmuir-isotherm and diffusion sink models. Test data were also compared to a no-sink model. The sorption and desorption rate constants for the Langmuir-isotherm model were obtained. Mass balance was analyzed. There were strong correlations between equilibrium partition coefficients from the Langmuir-isotherm model and equilibrium partition coefficients and the effective diffusion coefficients from the sink diffusion model. This study provides insights into the sink effect and absorption mechanisms of VOCs in indoor environments.
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VOC sink behaviour on building materials--model evaluation
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NRMRL-RTP-P-1091.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 146 KB, about PDF)
NRMRL-RTP-P-1091 TABLES.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 139 KB, about PDF)
NRMRL-RTP-P-1091 FIGS.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 154 KB, about PDF)