Sorption of organic gases in residential bedrooms and bathrooms

Publication Type

Conference Paper

Authors

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to characterize organic gas sorption in residential bedrooms (n=4), bathrooms (n=2), and a furnished test chamber. Rooms were studied "as-is" with material surfaces and furnishings unaltered. Surface materials were characterized and areas quantified. Experiments included rapid volatilization of a volatile organic compound (VOC) mixture with the room closed and sealed for a 5-h Adsorb phase, followed by 30-min Flush and 2-h closed-room Desorb phases. The mixture included n-alkanes, aromatics, glycol ethers, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, dichlorobenzene, and organophosphorus compounds. Measured gas-phase concentrations were fit to three variations of a mathematical model that considers sorption occurring at one surface sink and one potential embedded sink. The 2-parameter sink model tracked measurements for most compounds, but improved fits were obtained for some VOCs with a 3-parameter sink-diffusion or a 4-parameter two-sink model. Sorptive partitioning and initial adsorption rates increased with decreasing vapour pressure within each chemical class.

Journal

Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate - Indoor Air 2005

Volume

2(9)

Year of Publication

2005

Organization

Research Areas

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