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Gypsum Wallboard as a sink for formaldehyde
Citation:
LIU, X., M. A. MASON, Z. GUO, K. A. KREBS, AND N. ROACHE. Gypsum Wallboard as a sink for formaldehyde. In Proceedings, 2009 Healthy Buildings International Conference, Syracuse, NY, September 13 - 17, 2009. International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ), Santa Cruz, CA, ,, (2009).
Impact/Purpose:
symposium paper
Description:
Formaldehyde (HCHO) has been of special concern as an indoor air pollutant because of its presence in a wide range of consumer products and its adverse health effects. Materials acting as HCHO sinks, such as painted gypsum wallboard, can become emission sources. However, adsorption and desorption rate constants for HCHO have received little attention in comparison with the extensive sink effect study for other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), especially in the presence of water vapor. To address this issue, small chamber tests were conducted to study the adsorption and desorption of HCHO by painted gypsum wallboard under different relative humidity conditions (20, 50, 70% RH) at 23°C and one air exchange per hour. The concentration-time profiles from the tests are presented. The Langmuir isotherm model was used to estimate adsorption and desorption rate constants and to analyze the sink behavior. The results show that higher humidity has impacts on the adsorption and desorption of HCHO on painted gypsum wallboard. The amounts of HCHO adsorbed and desorbed were calculated. The discrepancy between the model predictions and experimental results implies that other factors, such as diffusion controlled process, may have contributed to the sink effect.
URLs/Downloads:
NRMRL RTP P 1036.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 47 KB, about PDF)Conference Program
Conference Information