Development of improved methods for the characterisation of organic chemicals emitted into indoor air by building and furnishing products

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorCrump, Derrick
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Veronica M.
dc.date.accessioned2014-01-21T15:02:57Z
dc.date.available2014-01-21T15:02:57Z
dc.date.issued2013-05
dc.description.abstractA wide range of organic compounds are released from building and furnishing products and these have the potential to adversely affect indoor air quality. There are growing international requirements for testing and controlling these emissions for the protection of public health. The test methods require specialist analytical chemistry facilities based on thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD/GC/MS). This project has addressed the need for better performance and greater automation of the analysis, as well as development of simpler screening tests. A variety of products were tested using screening techniques, with an emission cell method being used as a reference test. Short duration tests, using a micro-scale chamber at slightly elevated temperature, were shown to have the potential to predict emissions occurring during longer term reference tests. Multi-sorbent air sampling tubes, that have the potential to extend the volatility range of compounds determined by a single TD/GC/MS analysis, were compared with Tenax TA tubes specified by current standard methods. This showed no difference in performance for the range of compounds for which Tenax is optimal, with improved performance for a number of more volatile compounds. The determination of formaldehyde was investigated using 2-hydroxymethylpiperidine as a derivatising agent, followed by TD/GC/MS. The results showed the possibility of this method being developed as an alternative to the current standard method that involves solvent elution and liquid chromatography. The performance of a newly developed time-of-flight mass spectrometer was compared with a standard quadrupole instrument. This showed its potential, with the use of re-collection, to extend the concentration range of compounds quantified from a single air sample, of particular benefit for the determination of carcinogens. New compound identification software was applied to increase automation of analysis of the TD/GC/MS data. Good correlation with manual processing was achieved, demonstrating the possibility of routine application to material emissions testing.en_UK
dc.identifier.urihttp://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8078
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherCranfield Universityen_UK
dc.rights© Cranfield University, 2013. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder.en_UK
dc.subjectVOCsen_UK
dc.subjectVVOCsen_UK
dc.subjectSVOCsen_UK
dc.subjectFormaldehydeen_UK
dc.subjectScreening testsen_UK
dc.subjectTenaxen_UK
dc.subjectMulti-sorbenten_UK
dc.subjectMaterial emissionsen_UK
dc.subjectThermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometryen_UK
dc.subjectTD/GC/MSen_UK
dc.subjectTime-of-flighten_UK
dc.subjectTOFen_UK
dc.subjectMSen_UK
dc.subjectTargetView Softwareen_UK
dc.titleDevelopment of improved methods for the characterisation of organic chemicals emitted into indoor air by building and furnishing productsen_UK
dc.typeThesis or dissertationen_UK
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen_UK
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen_UK

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Brown_V_M_2013.pdf
Size:
4.59 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.79 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

PhD, EngD and MSc by research theses (Cranfield Health)