Effect of surface covering on the release of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, formic acid and acetic acid from particleboard

An important aspect for indoor air quality is the control of potential sources of organic pollutants. However, many building products, in particular wood-based materials, are coated under real conditions, while the emission behavior is usually examined without coating. For a reliable estimate of indoor air concentrations, it is therefore necessary to determine the influence of surface coatings on their emission behavior. In this work, the effect of various types of coatings (wallpaper, plaster, wall paint, latex paint) on particleboards with regard to the emission of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, formic acid and acetic acid was investigated. The measurements were carried out in four steps. I: raw particleboard; II: particleboard with primer; III: particleboard with primer and top coating; IV: particleboard with primer and top coating after three months of storage. Applying the primer reduced the formaldehyde concentration in the chamber by 10-20%. With the final coating, the formaldehyde reduction was between 70% and 90% after 900 h. There was no increase in formaldehyde concentration after three months. Regardless of the coating, a constant decay in concentration was observed for acetaldehyde. The release of formic acid could be reduced by the primer for a short time, only the application of the final coating brought a lasting effect. The results were indifferent for acetic acid. One reason for this is that some of the coatings contained acetates. Overall, surface coatings make a significant contribution to reducing the emissions of wood-based materials. This is particularly evident where the substance formaldehyde is concerned.