Flooring PVC emission measurement with a special dry sealed sample holder

A dry sealed stainless steel specimen holder for the chamber measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions from flooring materials was developed. This system allows a precise determination of the sample area exposed to the chamber atmosphere and the measurement of a single side emission without the use of sealing bond tapes. This is especially important in small testing chambers where border effect could have an effective impact on the emission measurements. A series of emission measurements from two PVC flooring is provided. The emissions of the former were dominated by 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, while in the latter we detected the emission of some aromatic hydrocarbons. The use of the sample holder allows a precise control of the exposed surface and the detection of a strong difference in the emission rate of the front and backside in the second sample. The emissions from the topside results to be one order of magnitude smaller than the backside, and the qualitative analysis of the emission results to be the same for both sides.