Issue 4, 2023

A rapid micro chamber method to measure SVOC emission and transport model parameters

Abstract

Assessing exposure to semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) that are emitted from consumer products and building materials in indoor environments is critical for reducing the associated health risks. Many modeling approaches have been developed for SVOC exposure assessment indoors, including the DustEx webtool. However, the applicability of these tools depends on the availability of model parameters such as the gas-phase concentration at equilibrium with the source material surface, y0, and the surface–air partition coefficient, Ks, both of which are typically determined in chamber experiments. In this study, we compared two types of chamber design, a macro chamber, which downscaled the dimensions of a room to a smaller size with roughly the same surface-to-volume ratio, and a micro chamber, which minimized the sink-to-source surface area ratio to shorten the time required to reach steady state. The results show that the two chambers with different sink-to-source surface area ratios yield comparable steady-state gas- and surface-phase concentrations for a range of plasticizers, while the micro chamber required significantly shorter times to reach steady state. Using y0 and Ks measured with the micro chamber, we conducted indoor exposure assessments for di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT) with the updated DustEx webtool. The predicted concentration profiles correspond well with existing measurements and demonstrate the direct applicability of chamber data in exposure assessments.

Graphical abstract: A rapid micro chamber method to measure SVOC emission and transport model parameters

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
05 Dec. 2022
Accepted
16 Febr. 2023
First published
10 Marts 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023,25, 818-831

A rapid micro chamber method to measure SVOC emission and transport model parameters

C. Wang, C. M. A. Eichler, C. Bi, C. J. E. Delmaar, Y. Xu and J. C. Little, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2023, 25, 818 DOI: 10.1039/D2EM00507G

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