The FLEC® has been validated and used in research for many years.
Below is a publication list of journal articles, abstracts, poster or oral presentations where the FLEC or CHEMATEC’s other products have been in focus.
If you have anything that can be added to the list, we encourage you to contact CHEMATEC.
2016 |
Wu, Yaoxing; Cox, Steven S; Xu, Ying; Liang, Yirui; Won, Doyun; Liu, Xiaoyu; Clausen, Per A; Rosell, Lars; Benning, Jennifer L; Zhang, Yinping; Little, John C A reference method for measuring emissions of SVOCs in small chambers Journal Article In: Building and Environment, vol. 95, pp. 126 - 132, 2016, ISSN: 0360-1323. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: DEHP, Inter-laboratory study, Phthalates, Reference method, Semi-volatile organic compounds @article{WU2016126,Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are indoor air pollutants that may have significant adverse effects on human health. Although emissions of volatile chemicals from building materials and consumer products are usually characterized in small chambers, few chamber studies have been conducted for SVOCs due to the challenges associated with analysis and the lack of validation procedures. There is an urgent need for a reliable and accurate chamber test method to verify these measurements. A reference method employing a specially-designed chamber has been developed and is undergoing extensive evaluation. A pilot inter-laboratory study (ILS) has been conducted with six laboratories performing chamber tests under identical conditions for di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Results from this study showed inter-laboratory variations of 24% for DEHP emission rates, with closer agreement observed among intra-laboratory measurements for most of the participating laboratories. A mechanistic emission model fits well to the measured concentration profiles, demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed reference method to independently assess laboratory performance and validate SVOC emission tests. |
Jeon, Seunghwan; Kim, Ki-Tae; Choi, Kyungho Migration of DEHP and DINP into dust from PVC flooring products at different surface temperature Journal Article In: Science of The Total Environment, vol. 547, pp. 441 - 446, 2016, ISSN: 0048-9697. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Di-isononyl phthalate (DINP), Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), Dust, Heating, Migration, Phthalates @article{JEON2016441,Phthalates are important endocrine disrupting chemicals that have been linked to various adverse human health effects. Phthalates are ubiquitously present in indoor environment and could enter humans. Vinyl or PVC floorings have been recognized as one of important sources of phthalate release to indoor environment including house dust. In the present study, we estimated the migration of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) from the flooring materials into the dust under different heating conditions. For this purpose, a small chamber specifically designed for the present study and a Field and Laboratory Emission Cell (FLEC) were used, and four major types of PVC flooring samples including two UV curing paint coated, an uncoated residential, and a wax-coated commercial type were tested. Migration of DEHP was observed for an uncoated residential type and a wax-coated commercial type flooring. After 14days of incubation, the levels of DEHP in the dust sample was determined at room temperature on average (standard deviation) at 384±19 and 481±53μg/g, respectively. In contrast, migration of DINP was not observed. The migration of DEHP was strongly influenced by surface characteristics such as UV curing coating. In the residential flooring coated with UV curing paint, migration of DEHP was not observed at room temperature. But under the heated condition, the release of DEHP was observed in the dust in the FLEC. Migration of DEHP from flooring materials increased when the flooring was heated (50°C). In Korea, heated flooring system, or ‘ondol’, is very common mode of heating in residential setting, therefore the contribution of PVC flooring to the total indoor DEHP exposure among general population is expected to be greater especially during winter season when the floor is heated. |
2015 |
Liang, Yirui; Caillot, Olivier; Zhang, Jianshun; Zhu, Jiping; Xu, Ying Large-scale chamber investigation and simulation of phthalate emissions from vinyl flooring Journal Article In: Building and Environment, vol. 89, pp. 141 - 149, 2015, ISSN: 0360-1323. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Emission, Large-scale chamber, Modeling, Phthalates, Sorption, SVOCs @article{LIANG2015141,This study investigated phthalate emissions from vinyl flooring in a large-scale chamber. Vinyl flooring materials were examined for their phthalates content; one with high contents of diisononyl phthalate (DINP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was selected for emissions testing in a small chamber at two different temperatures. Using the same type of vinyl flooring, large-scale chamber experiments were then conducted in three testing phases. In the first phase, the gas-phase concentrations of DINP and DEHP in the large chamber at 36 °C were about three times lower than those in the small chamber under the same temperature, which is consistent with its lower area/volume ratio. In the second phase, when a large air mixing fan inside the chamber was replaced with a small fan, the gas-phase concentrations of DINP and DEHP in the large chamber were reduced slightly, due to the decease of mass transfer coefficient and emission rate. During the last phase, when the temperature of the chamber was reduced to 25 °C, phthalate concentrations dropped instantly and steeply due to the significantly reduced emissions. However, they did not decrease as quickly thereafter because of desorption of phthalates from the internal surfaces of the large chamber. A fundamental mechanistic model was developed to interpret the experimental results in the large chamber based on the emission characteristics obtained in the small chamber measurements. Reasonable agreement was obtained between the model calculation and experimental data. Further model simulations show that temperature and air mixing above the source material have important effects on the fate of phthalates, while the impact of air change rate (ACH) is not significant. |
Liang, Yirui; Xu, Ying The influence of surface sorption and air flow rate on phthalate emissions from vinyl flooring: Measurement and modeling Journal Article In: Atmospheric Environment, vol. 103, pp. 147 - 155, 2015, ISSN: 1352-2310. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Air flow rate, Chamber test, Model, Phthalates, Surface absorption, SVOCs @article{LIANG2015147,This study investigated the influences of surface sorption and air flow rate on the emission of phthalates from building materials. Controlled tests were conducted in specially designed stainless steel and wood chambers, and the steady-state concentration in the stainless steel chamber was about 2–3 times higher than that in the wood chamber for di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP). The emission rate of phthalates increased in the wood chamber due to the diffusion mass flow through the chamber wall (i.e., surface absorption). The adsorption isotherm of phthalates on the stainless steel surface and the absorption parameters (i.e., diffusion and partition coefficients) of phthalates on the wood surface were determined experimentally, and the values were comparable to those in the literature. The equilibration time scale for phthalates absorbed to the sink reservoir in actual indoor environments was estimated and can be substantial (approximately 80 years), indicating that surface absorption may continuously drive phthalates from their indoor sources to various sinks and thus significantly increase the emission rate of phthalates. The gas-phase concentration of DEHP was measured in two stainless steel chambers operated at flow rates of 300 mL/min and 3000 mL/min, respectively, which were both adjusted to 1000 mL/min after steady state was reached. The gas-phase concentration of DEHP in the chamber was very sensitive to the chamber air flow rate, and higher air flow rates resulted in lower concentration levels. However, the increased emission rate compensated for the dilution in the gas phase and made the DEHP concentration not drop substantially with an increase in the air flow rate. Independently measured or calculated parameters were used to validate a semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) emission model that included absorptive surfaces and for a range of air flow rates, with excellent agreement between the model predictions and the observed chamber concentrations of phthalates. |
2014 |
Schripp, Tobias; Salthammer, Tunga; Fauck, Christian; Bekö, Gabriel; Weschler, Charles J Latex paint as a delivery vehicle for diethylphthalate and di-n-butylphthalate: Predictable boundary layer concentrations and emission rates Journal Article In: Science of The Total Environment, vol. 494-495, pp. 299 - 305, 2014, ISSN: 0048-9697. Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Boundary layer, Mass transfer coefficient, Material/air partition coefficient, Phthalates, Reference material, Test chamber @article{SCHRIPP2014299,The description of emission processes of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) from building products requires a detailed understanding of the material and the air flow conditions at the surface boundary. The mass flux between the surface of the material and air depends on the mass transfer coefficient (hm) through the boundary layer, the gas phase concentration of the target compound immediately adjacent to the material (y0), and the gas-phase concentration in bulk air (y(t)). In the present study emission experiments were performed in two chambers of quite different sizes (0.25m3 and 55m3), and, in the larger chamber, at two different temperatures (23°C and 30°C). The emitting material was latex wall paint that had been doped with two plasticizers, diethylphthalate (DEP) and di-n-butylphthalate (DnBP). The phthalate content in the paint was varied in the small chamber experiment to evaluate the impact of the initial concentration in the bulk material (C0) on the emission rate. Boundary layer theory was applied to calculate hm for the specific phthalates from the Sherwood number (Sh) and the diffusion coefficient (Dair). Then y0 was determined based on the bulk gas-phase concentration at steady state (y¯). For both, DEP and DnBP, the y0 obtained was lower than the respective saturation vapor pressure (Ps). Furthermore, for both phthalates in latex paint, the material/air partition coefficient (C0/y0) was close in value to the octanol/air partition coefficient (KOA). This study provides a basis for designing phthalate emitting reference materials that mimic the emission behavior of common building materials. |