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Using bio-based building products for renovation and refurbishment contributes to a bioeconomy. As private consumers mainly buy building products at local hardware stores, it is essential to consider the local supply situation. This qualitative study analyzes the local range of bio-based building products for renovation and refurbishment and related consumer perceptions and assessments in two case cities in Germany. The study results reveal that consumers face high search costs, the range of products is primarily narrow, and their placement and presentation are unfavorable. Manufacturers can use the study results and invest in classical marketing strategies, and initiate pull strategies with consumers for bio-based building products. This could motivate retailers to increase the range and improve the placement and presentation of such products. Finally, policymakers can apply the insights from this study to educational campaigns and the promotion of quality labels in this field.

Ensuring fire safety is the most important thing in the construction industry, especially when it comes to facade materials. The inherent flammability of polystyrene foam poses significant safety concerns, especially when integrated into facade systems. Therefore, the main focus is on meeting the strict flammability requirements set for construction products, which are assessed by applying rigorous test procedures. This study focuses on the fire resistance testing of a facade system using EPS 70 with graphite additives. The system has been evaluated according to the strict DIN 4102-20 standards. Tests were conducted under real-world conditions to gain insight into the performance of the EPS 70 in real-world fire scenarios. Temperature measurements were taken at various points in the facade system, including at least 3.5 meters above the combustion chamber. The results showed that the temperature does not exceed 500 °C, so it is possible to quantify the thermal properties of the material and the ability to prevent the vertical spread of fire. After the tests, detailed post-test inspections were carried out to evaluate the internal flame propagation after removing the top layer of plaster. The study confirms that polystyrene foam EPS 70 with graphite additives meets the fire safety requirements of DIN 4102-20, which suggests that it can be used more widely in building facades to improve fire safety in residential and commercial buildings. The study highlights the importance of adhering to installation standards, emphasizing the need for accurate installation practices. It also encourages the development of new composite materials with similar or improved fire safety properties, laying the foundation for further innovations in fire-resistant materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When possible, choosing materials with a low quartz content is the most effective and cost-efficient way to prevent the respirable quartz exposure of workers and other end users of powdery products. Therefore, methods are needed to analyze low amounts of quartz from powdery products, such as sand, gravel, plaster, cement, and concrete. To this end, we present a method to analyze respirable dust and quartz from powdered materials, such as construction products. The method includes separation of the respirable dust fraction by liquid sedimentation, followed by gravimetric analysis and determination of the crystalline silica content by X-ray diffractometry. While also aiding in the development of less harmful products, analysis of the quartz concentration of powdery products is statutory in Eu countries, excluding natural products not chemically modified. According to EU Regulation No. 1272/2008, products must be classified if they contain harmful substances in concentrations above 0.1 wt.%, and clauses pertaining to cancerous properties and harmfulness to lungs should be included. Also, mineral producers in the EU recommend that products containing respirable quartz should be labelled based on their quartz concentration, provided the concentration exceeds 1 wt.%. The present method meets these needs. The analysis can be performed in parallel from 50 to 1000 mg (dry weight) of powdery materials. The quantitative limit of determination was 10 µg per sample, corresponding to 0.01 wt.%, and the linear range 0.02–10 wt.% (10–5000 µg quartz per sample, Pearson correlation coefficient 0.99). The accuracy of the method was 82% and the repeatability 11%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of buildings on the environment is enormous. Buildings consume 40% of natural resources, use 70% of all electricity produced and their waste contributes 50% to all landfills. This situation has led to governments developing policy and regulations to mitigate the serious impacts on the planet. The emerging green building market is becoming part of the construction industry. Rapid demand for products present significant opportunities for products that can meet sustainability goals of building projects. The industry has low barriers to entry but the barriers to adoption and diffusion of new and innovative green building products are high. This is further compounded by the industries fragmented nature and its resistant to change. The research provides a comprehensive understanding of market conditions and clearly identifies factors that drive the market and those that influence the adoption and products. Research uncovered a specific set of factors that influence the development of strategies to commercialise new products into the market. Thorough analysis and understanding of these factors can be used to guide the development and advancement of hemp-lime composite products paving the way for broader adoption as a mainstream building material in the construction industry.

The effect of duration of load testing on flexural properties of structural insulated panels was investigated herein. Structural insulated panels were manufactured by a member of the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) in accordance with International Code Council-Evaluation Service Report 4689. Two panel depths 16.5 cm and 31.1 cm (6.5 in. and 12.25 in.) were tested in short duration 1/3-point bending per American Society for Testing and Materials standards. All structural insulated panels had joints or discontinuities in the foam layer in a location that was subject to shear stress during the bending tests. Failure mode for all panels was horizontal shear within the foam layer. Within each panel depth, no statistically significant differences were detected between the maximum load values before and after creep testing. This finding indicates that the creep test loading was not detrimental to the strength of the structural insulated panels. While the results were not deemed to be statistically different for the Δymax (midspan deflection at Pmax) for the 31.1 cm depth class, they were statistically different from the 16.5 cm depth class. Overall, it appeared that there was minimal effect of the creep test loading on Δymax of the SIPs.

The effect of duration of load testing on flexural properties of structural insulated panels was investigated herein. Structural insulated panels were manufactured by a member of the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) in accordance with International Code Council-Evaluation Service Report 4689. Two panel depths 16.5 cm and 31.1 cm (6.5 in. and 12.25 in.) were tested in short duration 1/3-point bending per American Society for Testing and Materials standards. All structural insulated panels had joints or discontinuities in the foam layer in a location that was subject to shear stress during the bending tests. Failure mode for all panels was horizontal shear within the foam layer. Within each panel depth, no statistically significant differences were detected between the maximum load values before and after creep testing. This finding indicates that the creep test loading was not detrimental to the strength of the structural insulated panels. While the results were not deemed to be statistically different for the Δymax (midspan deflection at Pmax) for the 31.1 cm depth class, they were statistically different from the 16.5 cm depth class. Overall, it appeared that there was minimal effect of the creep test loading on Δymax of the SIPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When possible, choosing materials with a low quartz content is the most effective and cost-efficient way to prevent the respirable quartz exposure of workers and other end users of powdery products. Therefore, methods are needed to analyze low amounts of quartz from powdery products, such as sand, gravel, plaster, cement, and concrete. To this end, we present a method to analyze respirable dust and quartz from powdered materials, such as construction products. The method includes separation of the respirable dust fraction by liquid sedimentation, followed by gravimetric analysis and determination of the crystalline silica content by X-ray diffractometry. While also aiding in the development of less harmful products, analysis of the quartz concentration of powdery products is statutory in Eu countries, excluding natural products not chemically modified. According to EU Regulation No. 1272/2008, products must be classified if they contain harmful substances in concentrations above 0.1 wt.%, and clauses pertaining to cancerous properties and harmfulness to lungs should be included. Also, mineral producers in the EU recommend that products containing respirable quartz should be labelled based on their quartz concentration, provided the concentration exceeds 1 wt.%. The present method meets these needs. The analysis can be performed in parallel from 50 to 1000 mg (dry weight) of powdery materials. The quantitative limit of determination was 10 µg per sample, corresponding to 0.01 wt.%, and the linear range 0.02–10 wt.% (10–5000 µg quartz per sample, Pearson correlation coefficient 0.99). The accuracy of the method was 82% and the repeatability 11%.

Background: The agricultural and construction sectors demand enormous amounts of natural resources and generate environmental impacts that negatively affect ecosystems. One of the main problems is the generation and inadequate management of waste. For this reason, under the approaches of the new sustainable and circular models, waste valorization has been prioritised as a strategy for advancing towards the sustainability of production systems. This research aims to carry out a general analysis of Agricultural Waste Biomass (AWB) in the production of bio-based products for the construction sector. Bibliometric techniques were applied for the general analysis of the scientific production obtained from Scopus. A systematic review identified the main research approaches. In addition, European projects were reviewed to assess the practical application. This study is novel and provides relevant contributions to new trends in the valorisation of AWB in the building sector and the sustainability benefits. For policymakers, it is a source of information on the contribution of new policies to scientific advances and the aspects that need to be strengthened to improve sustainable and circular practices in both sectors. Results: The results show that 74% of the research has been published within the last 5 years. Regarding the main types of AWBs, rice husk ash and sugar cane bagasse ash are the most commonly used in manufacturing a wide variety of bio-based building products. Cement, concrete and bricks are the main bio-based products obtained from AWB. However, a new approach to utilisation was identified in road construction. Conclusions: The findings indicate that the AWB is an important resource with great potential for the construction sector. Similarly, that policies on sustainable and circular development have driven scientific progress on new alternatives for the valorisation of AWB to improve sustainability in the construction sector. Although the practical application has also been driven through European projects, development at this level is still low. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen partnerships between these two sectors and improve government strategies on sustainability and circularity to overcome existing constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire protection of timber structures and finishing structural materials is actual due to the high combustibility of these materials. The technical characteristics for protected timber structures in case of fire, determined by the single burning item test (SBI), are considered in the paper. Nine thin-layered lacquers and paints fire protections, which were differed by the type of fire resistance and chemical contents, were analyzed. The timber specimens treated by such fire protections as the paints, impregnations, lacquers and water glass were tested by SBI method. It was shown, that the lacquer on the base of the acryl resin has a significant influence on the fire growth rate indices FIGRA and smoke growth rate SMOGRA on the initial stage of combustion (FIGRA – 2948.78 W/s, SMOGRA – 101.28 m2/s2). Traditional fire protection by the water glass shows the high fire growth rate indices FIGRA (268.63 W/s) and total smoke production TSP600s (163.13 m2). The low levels of the both values did not confirm a classic consideration of the water glass as effective fire protection of timber members. Type of timber base and assembling method (with or without air gap) has a significant influence on the effectiveness of fire protection. Analogous results obtained for the intumescent paint and two types of lacquers. The modern water impregnations that contains phosphoric acids characterized by the low expenditure (mean value 250 g/m2) and low values of smoke growth rate and total smoke production in 3MJ and 33 m2, correspondingly. These impregnations provides a class Bs1d0 of fire protection by the European classification.

The need for an effective accounting system for construction companies is justified by the necessity of external and internal users of reports (financial, statistical, tax) to have reliable information. Discrepancies between the provisions of various legal documents, which govern accounting expenses in construction, create difficulties in the practicing accountants and academics in terms of understanding the essence of construction as a type of economic activity and the identification of construction and assembly works. In order to achieve the stated goal among general and special methods of knowledge, the methods of analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy, comparison and the method of systematic approach and method of grouping data are used in the study. To visualize the results of the study, the elements of the graphical method of research are applied. The essence of such concepts as «a construction», «the type of economic activity», «a branch» is revealed, and the significance of construction nowadays during the formation of accounting information is disclosed. The issues on the use of these concepts in various legal documents are analyzed, and the possible ways of their solutions are discussed. The author proves the necessity of coordination of the documents studied in the article as they determine the accounting construction and statistical reporting forms of construction companies.

The results of studies of the operational metrics of samples of foam-glass concrete building products are reported. To have a clear picture of a product's operational capabilities under different conditions the metrics are conventionally divided into strength and energetics. The strength metrics consist of density and strength in compression and the energetics metrics consist of thermal conductivity and moisture resistance. The qualitative effects of the main parameters of the main product filler — ground glass — on the operational metrics were studied. Nomograms were developed for making a judicious choice of the input metrics of products in application to different technical and operational requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Masonry's contribution to sustainable construction The following article explains (1) where and when in the life cycle of building products and (residential) buildings climate‐related sustainability aspects exist, (2) analyses today's contribution of masonry to sustainability and climate protection and (3) points out further necessary contributions still to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cement kiln flue gas can be used in carbonation curing of cement-based building products. • CO 2 uptake in flue gas carbonation was lower than that produced by pure gas. • The strength produced by flue gas carbonation was comparable to that by pure gas carbonation. • It is feasible to establish a CO 2 capture and utilization network for large scale production using cement kiln flue gas. Flue gas carbonation of three commonly used cement-based building products, concrete masonry blocks, cement-bond fiberboards and cement-bond bead boards, was studied to investigate the feasibility of using as-captured cement kiln flue gas to accelerate hydration and store carbon dioxide for emission reduction. Compared to pure gas carbonation, the use of flue gas does not require chemical separation which is energy-intensive. However, the reaction efficiency was low because of low CO 2 concentration in flue gas. It could take up to two weeks to achieve required strength. This paper presents an innovative process in which flue gas carbonation was carried out in 5 h with 7 cycles of injection and release. Cement-based building products could achieve 5-6% CO 2 uptake independent from types of products. Compared to pure gas carbonation, degree of carbonation was low in flue gas but strength gain was in the same order of magnitude. Reaction product was typical calcium silicate carbo-hydrates, a carbonate modified hydrate. The size of carbonate crystal was much smaller by flue gas carbonation. However, their contribution to strength gain was comparable to larger crystals in pure gas carbonation. The successful capture and utilization of cement kiln flue gas made it feasible to establish a network to link cement plants (CO 2 sources) to concrete plants (CO 2 sinks) for emission reduction through utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is stipulated that the construction company, chosen the strategy of economic growth, should have some competitive advantages, determining opportunities for sustainable development and effective improving, and operational efficiency increase. One of the factors of the competitiveness increase of construction products is the innovative potential of construction industry. Methodical approaches to the evaluation of innovative capacity and its effect on the growth of competitive advantages have been proposed.

It is proved that the effective operation of a construction company in today's competitive market is based on the application of the principles of strategic positioning. The methodical approach to the sustainable market positioning of construction products. It is proved that the increase of competitive advantages of construction products is largely determined by the correct choice of strategy of formation and use of the resource potential of construction enterprises.

Calcium silicate masonry is characterized by a high loadbearing capacity. Despite the widespread use of calcium silicate masonry units as a building material in Germany, there have been no studies to specifically improve its resistance to bullet impact, which would result in a new, very specialized market segment for threatened infrastructure. Within the scope of a research project, fundamental knowledge was gained about the influence of manufacturing parameters on the impact resistance of calcium silicate masonry units. The investigations showed that both the type and proportion of coarse aggregate and the forming pressure play a decisive role. Based on these findings, calcium silicate masonry units can now be specifically optimized with regard to high impact resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For highly insulated clay masonry units, fire resistance is verified in the course of the approval procedure through fire tests according to harmonised European standards. The fire resistance class in the relevant national technical approval is then based on these tests. Classification according to these testing standards in combination with the extrapolation standard DIN EN 15080‐12 represents a justifiable option for the fire resistance classification of masonry walls according to harmonised European standards. In this paper, the extended scopes of application of the extrapolation standard are presented through the example of tests on precision clay masonry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract We have shown, for the first time, that stabilized synthetic urine can be used to facilitate a microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation reaction at elevated pH values. Stabilized urine is mixed with sand and urease-producing bacteria. The bacteria convert the urea present in the urine to carbonate ions, which then combine with excess calcium ions to form calcium carbonate. This calcium carbonate cements any sand particles together, thus forming a bio-solid of any shape. The resilience of Sporosarcina pasteurii bacteria to survive pH values of approximately 11.2 was not expected, but this finding is useful for using stabilized urine as a source of urea since the solution has a pH typically greater than 12. This process thus has the potential to create more sustainable building products from urine using natural processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

End-of-life vehicle (ELV) waste management and its immeasurable environmental impacts are the subjects of global concern. This study proposes a new concept of a processing framework to utilise ELV waste from automotive to construction industries by starting a new trend of circular economy applications to improve ELV recyclability. The research focuses on building a strong collaboration between automotive and construction industries to manage ELV waste in Malaysia. A systematic review approach based on classification and comparison methods was utilised to synthesise the findings through critical analysis. The concept was developed on the basis of existing ELV policies and legislation, processing framework, waste management and recycling possibilities for converting ELVs into building products. The findings corroborate that ELV waste in the dismantling and shredding operations can be utilised by the construction industry. The analysis and proposed framework established a source of information that provides a new paradigm for prioritising building product development and related policies in Malaysia. This research will provide a viable option for reducing the disposal problems and curbing the dependence on raw materials in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood–plastic composites (WPCs) have numerous indoor applications, including framing, decoration and flooring. However, the impact of WPCs on indoor air quality has not been widely studied. Proton-transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS) was utilized to monitor the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a commercial WPC for 41 days since its day of manufacture. Additionally, the emission rates of VOCs from seven different WPC samples were compared and converted into air concentrations to evaluate whether the odour thresholds would be exceeded. The VOCs studied were formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, cyclohexene, furan, furfural, guaiacol and monoterpenes. The results from the 41-day test revealed that the emission rates of monoterpenes, guaiacol, furfural and acetaldehyde declined by 75%–93%, whereas an opposite phenomenon was observed for cyclohexene (nearly a threefold increase). The comparison of VOC emission rates from seven WPC samples indicated that none of the samples had the lowest or highest emission rate for every VOC studied. The present results are significant in at least two aspects; this study shows that the VOC emission rates from WPCs can be determined by using PTR-TOF-MS. Furthermore, it seems that guaiacol and acetaldehyde exceed their odour thresholds and therefore humans will be able to detect these compounds from the WPCs studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to give an overview over different reaction-to-fire prediction models developed over the last decades by finding similarities and differences between models, as well as identifying their robustness in scaling. The models have been divided into four categories - empirical, thermal, polynomial and comprehensive - depending on how pyrolysis is modelled. Empirical models extrapolate bench-scale test results to larger scales. These models are pertinent to applications that they have been validated for, but surfacic parameters used may not be scalable. In thermal models, pyrolysis is represented by heat transfer rates. The models are feasible for materials with high activation energies and where little pyrolysis occur before ignition. Polynomial models are empirical models that also take the environment into account. The validity of scaling is yet to be established. The comprehensive methodology includes chemical kinetics in the condensed phase. It has the potential to be used for any application; however, many parameters are needed. This increases the degrees of freedom versus data available for the description of the problem. Consequently, possible errors are introduced, and uncertainty is increased. A comprehensive multi-scale methodology is a way forward, where many steps of validation are possible. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo is a category of fast-growing and widely distributed perennials having unique physical and mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of bamboo are often higher (typically by two to three times) than those of conventional timbers, and it has become a very important raw material for the household/building industries. Bamboo has been commercially used for the production of indoor and outdoor floors, furniture, and structural timber for building. Some performance defects/drawbacks of bamboo have been effectively remedied, due to the new technologies, such as bamboo scrimber, which facilitates the market penetration/acceptance of bamboo-based household and building products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes statistical methods for evaluation of quantitative performance of building products determined by tests for objective decision during conformity assessment/certification in the fire protection field. The procedure is applicable even for other types of products, and for research / development of new material products.

Novel vegetal-based thermal plasters have been developed, in the framework of a joint research project involving manufacturers and research centers, adopting an integrated multi-objective design process. The adopted methodology, here specifically implemented for vegetal-based hydraulic lime thermal plasters for energy retrofitting purposes, has pointed out the importance of a multi-criteria optimization when studying the development of materials to be used in a retrofitting process, where true sustainability implies that many different aspects need to be tackled contemporarily. The most effective plaster blends have been identified and tested, through an iterative process, which has involved moving from the material/component level to a real building application and taking into account environmental, technological, energy and comfort related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The IARC's 2004 classification of formaldehyde as a human carcinogen has led to intensive discussion on scientific and regulatory levels. In June 2014, the European Union followed and classified formaldehyde as a cause of cancer. This automatically triggers consequences in terms of emission minimization and the health-related assessment of building and consumer products. On the other hand, authorities are demanding and authorizing technologies and products which can release significant quantities of formaldehyde into the atmosphere. In the outdoor environment, this particularly applies to combusting fuels. The formation of formaldehyde through photochemical smog has also been a recognized problem for years. Indoors there are various processes which can contribute to increased formaldehyde concentrations. Overall, legislation faces a dilemma: primary sources are often over-regulated while a lack of consideration of secondary sources negates the regulations’ effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to propose guidelines for the selection of an accurate life cycle assessment (LCA) dataset of building products to be used as generic data for a national context. Methods: The guidelines are structured within a methodology, called NativeLCA. First, a review of available datasets for construction products is presented such as generic LCA and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) databases for both national (e.g. France, Germany, Spain etc.) and European context. Secondly, a method is proposed to choose appropriate generic datasets by means of a hybrid methodology. A meta-analysis is conducted in the first step on the sample of collected datasets from the literature. When relevant, product-specific data (EPD of the different producers) are averaged to represent an average data or existing generic data are adapted to be more suitable for the context. Then, a data quality assessment enables to rank the different datasets according to the goal and scope of the study. Results and discussion: This study provides consistent guidelines that can be used by building LCA practitioners to select relevant datasets depending on their goal and scope. A full case study for stone wool boards illustrates and demonstrates the applicability and usefulness of the proposed methodology, namely in the selection of a coherent dataset as generic data for a national context. This work highlights the issues in terms of choice and adaptation of existing data for a national context. Industry data cannot be adapted due to confidentiality issues unlike unit process generic data. The use of data quality indicators then helps to select the relevant generic data for each context according to user needs. Conclusions: While further efforts are needed to develop regional and sector-specific LCA databases adapted for each national context, the proposed guidelines showed that the current use or adaptation of existing data, if consistently done, can lead practitioners to increase the reliability of building LCA studies according to their goal and scope definition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large-scale test set-up was designed to evaluate the volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions of building materials in a real room situation but under laboratory conditions. Two model rooms (ModR) with a volume of 30 m3 each were constructed of the wood-based building materials X-lam and OSB, respectively. Temperature and relative humidity (RH) inside the ModR were kept in a range of 21°C-25°C and 45%-55% RH. VOCs were collected at 13 different times over a period of 23 weeks, and the total VOC (TVOC) concentration was calculated from GC/MS data. Results were quantified as toluene equivalents (TE). In the X-lam-ModR, the TVOC concentration decreased by 64% over the whole measurement period from 115 to 41 μg m-3 TE. Terpenes were the most abundant substance group and accounted, on average, for 80% of the TVOC concentration. In the OSB-ModR, the TVOC concentration decreased by 72% from 443 to 124 μg m-3 TE. Aldehydes showed the highest concentrations, accounting, on average, for 52% of the TVOC, while 38% were terpenes. The results show that this type of test provides realistic data for the praxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) released into indoor air of confined spaces increase the risk of pulmonary diseases for numerous people. This study is a first approach to determine the adsorption of hardened cement pastes exposed to VOCs and aims to enhance this phenomenon by using activated carbon as cement additive. The entrapment of acetaldehyde by the cement-based hydrates is quantified and is confirmed by testing hardened cement paste. However, the abatement of acetaldehyde tends to decrease due to carbonation or in presence of a significant relative humidity. The adsorption of toluene by reference cement pastes is negligible but is significantly improved by the addition of a small fraction of activated carbon powder into the mix. The desorption of toluene is not detected after the heating of the hardened cement pastes until 50 °C, justifying the study of a new range of construction materials limiting the VOCs-based air-pollution in confined spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adding biocides to dispersion products is a well-known practice to control microbial deterioration. Isothiazolones are among the most commonly used preservatives, in particular a mixture of 2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one ( MIT) and 5-chloro-2-methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one ( CIT). In recent years, for health reasons, due to its strong sensitizing effect, CIT has been replaced by 1,2-benzisothiazol-3-one ( BIT). Furthermore, numerous products are now available for interiors containing the fungicidal active substance 2-octyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one ( OIT). So far nearly nothing is known of the emission behavior of BIT and OIT. An analytical method was developed for these two isothiazolones and interior products containing BIT respectively OIT have been investigated in an emission chamber and in test rooms. The chamber tests revealed maximum concentrations of 6.7 μg OIT/m3, 1.9 μg BIT/m3, and 187 μg MIT/m3. Concentrations obtained in the test rooms were at levels up to 1.4 μg OIT/m3 and 29 μg MIT/m3. A noticeable finding was the very slight subsidence of OIT and BIT levels over several weeks. While MIT outgassed quickly, OIT in particular showed low concentrations, but prolonged evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building sector is the main contributor to total energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions. The enforcement of energy efficient building is considered as the most successful strategy for CO2 emission reduction and energy saving during the life cycle of the building, while the application of suitable green building products plays an important role in facilitating energy efficient building promotion. This article proposes a comprehensive evaluation method for assessing the green performance of building products. The analytic hierarchy process is employed to determine the weights of evaluation indices, while the gray relational analysis is used to find the optimal product. A hypothetical case study is presented and the result shows that the sequence of the size of green performance is: product 3> product 1> product 2> product 4. Meanwhile, the proposed methods are proved feasible for scheme selection. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 33: 1389-1395, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]