Impact of Temperature on the Ratio of Initial Emittable Concentration to Total Concentration for Formaldehyde in Building Materials: Theoretical Correlation and Validation

The initial emittable concentration (C-m,C-0) is a key parameter characterizing the emission behaviors of formaldehyde from building materials, which is highly dependent on temperature but has seldom been studied. Our previous study found that C-m,C-0 is much less than the total concentration (C-0,C-total, used for labeling material in many standards) of formaldehyde. Because C-m,C-0 and not C-0,C-total directly determines the actual emission behaviors, we need to determine the relationship between C-m,C-0 and C-0,C-total so as to use C-m,C-0 as a more appropriate labeling index. By applying statistical physics theory, this paper derives a novel correlation between the emittable ratio (C-m,C-0/C-0,C-total) and temperature. This correlation shows that the logarithm of the emittable ratio multiplied by power of 0.5 of temperature is linearly related to the reciprocal of temperature. Emissions tests for formaldehyde from a type of medium density fiberboard over the temperature range of 25.0-80.0 degrees C were performed to validate the correlation. Experimental results indicated that C-m,C-0 (or emittable ratio) increased significantly with increasing temperature, this increase being 14-fold from 25.0 to 80.0 degrees C. The correlation prediction agreed well with experiments, demonstrating its effectiveness in characterizing physical emissions. This study will be helpful for predicting/controlling the emission characteristics of pollutants at various temperatures.