Classifying VOC emissions from cleanroom materials

Cleanroom suitable materials for specific applications need to be assessed for VOC emissions and classified in order to permit direct comparisons to be made. A standardized procedure for testing and classifying materials with uniform sample preparation and defined storage times is published in the guideline VDI 2083 part 17 (draft). It describes preparation of the samples, their storage in a VOC-free minienvironment, avoidance of cross-contamination, sampling using appropriate adsorbers in micro-chambers and analysis via thermodesorption coupled with chromatography and mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS). Once the active surface area, sampling time and VOC mass emitted are known, a specific emission rate can be determined which is then converted into a classification using a calculation model. Knowledge of the emission class enables the VOC charge of a defined area at a specific point in time to be calculated in reality. The tests and classifications allow a fast material screening compared to existing large chamber measurement methods. The resulting material classifications are entered into the CSM database www.ipa-csm.com of the industrial alliance CSM - cleanroom suitable materials to allow the tested products to be directly compared with one another. This enables a material selection already in the planning phase of a cleanroom or other environment.