Emission rates of bio-based building materials, a comparison between cork panels and reference building materials

Emissions from materials affect the indoor air quality (IAQ). Use of new materials, such as bio-based materials, are in need of such information in order to learn that they don’t form a health hazard when applied indoors. This research wanted to measure the emission (type and rate) from expanded cork and compare them to currently applied building materials. Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS), applying two different methods, is used for this analysis. The difference in methods is also reflected in the temperature applied. A qualitative and quantitative is performed. For that, besides the toluene equivalent approach, a group equivalent approach is introduced. Results show that there is an effect in the type of components emitted as function of the temperature for bio-based materials. Quantitively, assessed according to a part of the German AgBB, no health risks are identified for the emitted components. Application of the toluene versus group equivalent approach did reveal that the toluene equivalent approach in many cases underestimates the quantitative emission rate. Therefore, the group equivalent approach is regarded more fit for analysis of the amount emitted for a chemical component. It challenges the information available in literature. That generally has been obtained with the toluene equivalent method.