Formaldehyde emission monitoring from a variety of solid wood, plywood, blockboard and flooring products manufactured for building and furnishing materials

Abstract

The measurements of formaldehyde emission (FE) from solid wood, plywood, flooring and blockboard used for building and furnishing materials were obtained using the European small-scale chamber (EN 717-1) and gas analysis (EN 717-2) methods to identify the major sources of formaldehyde among construction and wood products in the Czech Republic. The differences in the FE values reported for various wood products were a function of their structural differences. These results showed that the wood species, plywood type and thickness significantly affected the FE measured by EN 717-2 (P<0.001). The FE values from solid wood ranged between 0.0068 and 0.0036ppm and 0.084-0.014mg/m(2)h. The initial FE ranged from 0.006mg/m(3) for engineered flooring with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) to 0.048mg/m(3) for painted birch blockboard. Furthermore, the FE dropped noticeably by the end of the measuring period, ranging between 0.006mg/m(3) for engineered flooring with PVAc and 0.037mg/m(3) for painted beech blockboard. Additionally, the initial FE was higher for the painted blockboard (0.035-0.048mg/m(3)) than for the uncoated boards (0.022-0.032mg/m(3)). In the first week after manufacturing, the FE was high, but the decrease in FE was noticeable at the two-week measurement for all of the materials, especially for the painted blockboards.