Analytical approaches for sampling and assessing volatile organic compounds emitted from engineered wood products
Building and Environment
In: Building and Environment, vol. 271, article 112578, 2025.
Full abstract
Off-gas emissions from engineered wood products (EWPs), primarily consisting of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), significantly affect indoor air quality (IAQ). Due to the volatility of VOCs, their presence at trace levels, and the complexity of EWP matrices, analysing these emissions is challenging and requires advanced, standardised methods for accurate results. Monitoring VOCs involves two main approaches: modelling and experimental examination, with the latter typically comprising three steps: emission generation, collection/extraction, and analysis. Most previous studies have focused on determining formaldehyde from EWPs, using small-scale laboratory methods such as the perforator, flask, desiccator, and gas analysis as well as advanced methods such as emission chambers and cells. Methods with equivalent sampling and testing conditions, for instance the chamber and the field and laboratory emission cell (FLEC) methods, show a good correlation (R² ≥ 0.7). In contrast, methods with differing conditions, like the perforator and the chamber methods show weak to negligible correlations (R² ≤ 0.4) at low formaldehyde emission levels (< 0.1 ppm). Small-scale laboratory methods show poor simulation of real-life indoor environmental conditions and mostly suitable for preliminary analysis. In contrast, emission test chambers and cells are good for long-term emission studies, which closely mimic these conditions. Each VOC sampling and assessing method has unique strengths and limitations, making method selection critical. This review provides a guide to help future researchers to select an appropriate method for determining VOCs from EWPs, avoiding the extensive evaluation of standardised methods.