Determination of formaldehyde emission from building and furnishing materials

A chamber method was developed for the determination of the formaldehyde emitted from building and furnishing materials, the formaldehyde emitted from different and with different methods surface treated products was determined with the developed chamber method and comparative formaldehyde determinations using some materials were made in room conditions. A fast test was also developed with which it is possible to state fast whether any formaldehyde is emitted from the products. The modified WKI-flask method suited well for fast detecting of formaldehyde. The chamber test stated the influence of the environmental factors on the amount of formaldehyde emitted from the product and the test conditions of the chamber test were specified. The chamber method was suitable for determination of the formaldehyde emitted from the furnishing materials studied. The comparability of the results of different product groups shall still be verified with additional studies. In the chamber test formaldehyde was emitted from almost all the products studied. The most problematic products with regard to formaldehyde emission proved to be the not surface treated boards manufactured by using aminoplastic as binder and the products surface treated with catalytic lacquer or paint. With the right surface treatment the formaldehyde emissions from particle boards can be considerably reduced. In practice the formaldehyde content of the room air was in wall and floor particle boards 45 - 60 % of the contents obtained in the test chamber. The influence of painting was not as large as in the chamber test due to poorer edge sealing. To improve the usability of the results of the chamber test the test should be developed such that the values were closer to those obtained in practice.