Estimation of the rate of VOC emissions from solvent-based indoor coating materials based on product formulation

Two computational methods are proposed for estimation of the emission rate of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from solvent-based indoor coating mate rials based on the knowledge of product formulation. The first method utili zes two previously developed mass transfer models with two key parameters - the total vapor pressure and the average molecular weight for total volati le organic compounds (TVOCs) - being estimated based on the VOC contents in the product. The second method is based on a simple, first-order decay mod el with its parameters being estimated from the properties of both the sour ce and the environment. All the model parameters can be readily obtained. D etailed procedures for computing the key parameters are described by using examples. The predictive errors were evaluated with small chamber data, and the results were satisfactory. Thus, the proposed methods provide a way to predict the VOC emissions in the indoor environment without having to cond uct costly chamber testing. The two proposed methods work for both TVOCs an d individual VOCs. Pros and cons for each method are discussed. (C) 1999 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.