EFFECT OF PANEL AREA-VOLUME RATIO ON TVOC RELEASED FROM DECORATIVE PARTICLEBOARDS

Home renovation can improve our living environment, but it can cause pollution and endanger human health. Wood-based panels are a main source of polluting volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This article studied the VOC concentration of different types of decorative particleboards (PBs) and different panel area–volume ratio, and the effect of panel area–volume ratio on release of various substances. In this study, the main experimental conditions are as follows: the temperature was controlled at 230.5°C; the humidity was controlled at 50%3%; and the rate of ventilation was controlled at once 1 h. And a 15-L small–environmental chamber was used to test the VOC emission. The experimental material was PB with different decorative materials (water-based paint, melamine-impregnated paper, polyvinyl chloride, and PB with no decorative material), and VOC emission was collected under different panel area–volume ratios (1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5m2/m3). The result showed that the VOCs were present, with the trend of decreasing with time. The decline velocity of water-based paint (WP) was the fastest, whereas that of the PB with no decorative material was the slowest. Increase of panel area–volume ratio could cause the VOC concentration to increase, but the panel area–volume ratio does not have a linear relationship with VOC concentration. Surface decoration can reduce the release of various kinds of material inside the plate to a certain extent. Melamine impregnated paper (MI) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) can reduce the release of aromatic hydrocarbons in panels, and PVC can inhibit the release of esters in panels.