Effect of the Relative Humidity on Formaldehyde Emission from Tackifier-Coated HVAC Filters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chang A ; Chen W ; Destaillats H ; Fisk WJ ; Kumagai K ; Miller R ; Sidheswaran M
• Description:
  Tackifiers and adhesive additives in commercially available HV AC filters help retain particles that impinge upon the filter media. A previous report has shown that the hydrolysis of such additives can be a formaldehyde emission source. The objective of this study is to investigate formaldehyde emissions from tackifier-coated filters and to evaluate its dependence with relative humidity (RH) and air velocity. Experiments were performed with 47 mm diameter filter samples at face velocities of approx. 0.0022 m/s and approx. 0.5 m/s, and under relative humidity of approx. 20%, approx. 50% and approx. 80%. The higher velocity is typical of conditions in HV AC systems. Three different types of filters were used with varying tackifier loading. Formaldehyde was quantified upstream and downstream of each sample to determine emission rates. Higher formaldehyde emissions were observed under high humidity levels in all cases, suggesting an important role of hydrolysis reactions. Surprisingly, formaldehyde emission rate increased approximately in proportion to air velocity. No significant differences in formaldehyde emissions were observed for filters with different tackifier loading. The results suggest that these filters could contribute substantially to indoor formaldehyde levels, when the humidity is high. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Formaldehyde Humidity Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Filter Emission Sources Emission Studies Filter Materials Filters Heating Equipment HVAC Systems Tackifier Ventilation Equipment
• ISBN:
  9781627480758
• Publisher:
  International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057597
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Healthy Buildings, July 8-12, 2012, Brisbane, Australia. Santa Cruz, CA: International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate, 2012 Jul; 3:2303-2308
• Email:
  HDestaillats@lbl.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance ; Manufacturing
• Performing Organization:
  University of California-Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20090915
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Healthy Buildings, July 8-12, 2012, Brisbane, Australia
• End Date:
  20120914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d6844ee7327ee031a54352c8ad3c1afe263e4b1263de766ae8624d30969d098a30346ef273a4433843dda33262afc3dbf82c1528ee358cdd1da74bd0a927a188
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214879/cdc_214879_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 826.82 KB ]