A study on reduction of chemical substance emission factor with sealer solvents mitigation effects on sealer paints for chemical substances emitted from building materials

Building materials emit many kinds of chemical substances, such as aldehydes and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). Efforts are currently being directed towards new technological developments to mitigate the occurrence of such indoor air pollution. Techniquesto counter this type of air pollution from indoor surfaces include adsorption, dissolution, and sealing. The present study investigates the effectiveness of sealer paints in reducing chemical substance emission rates. A new evaluation method is described for studying reductions in chemical emissions by these paints. The method is based on detection of aldehydes or VOCs emission following sealerpaint application versus a control without sealer, and the calculation of an emission factor. All paints showed significant reductions in emission factors for formaldehyde and for a number of other VOCs. Reduction rates for formaldehyde were as high as 67.2[%], depending on the sealer being tested. Future research will examine the durability of this sealing effect over extended periods of time.