A new test chamber to measure material emissions under controlled air velocity
- European Commission, Ispra (Italy). Joint Research Centre
A new 20-L glass chamber for the determination of VOC emissions from construction materials and consumer products under controlled air velocity and turbulence is described. Profiles of air velocity and turbulence, obtained with precisely positioned hot wire anemometric probes, show that the velocity field is homogeneous and that air velocity is tightly controlled by the fan rotation speed; this overcomes the problem of selecting representative positions to measure air velocity above a test specimen. First tests on material emissions show that the influence of air velocity on the emission rate of VOCs is negligible for sources limited by internal diffusion and strong for sources limited by evaporation. In a velocity interval from 0.15 to 0.30 m s{sup {minus}1}, an emission rate increase of 50% has been observed for pure n-decane and 1,4-dichlorobenzene and of 30% for 1,2-propanediol from a water-based paint. In contrast, no measurable influence of turbulence could be observed during vaporization of 1,4-dichlorobenzene within a 3-fold turbulence interval. Investigations still underway show that the chamber has a high recovery for the heavier VOC (TXIB), even at low concentrations.
- OSTI ID:
- 355506
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 33, Issue 10; Other Information: PBD: 15 May 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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