TY - JOUR A1 - Hodgkinson, I. A1 - Maletz, R. A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg A1 - Dornack, C. T1 - Mini-review of waste-to-energy related air pollution and their limit value regulations in an international comparison N2 - The concept of circular economy supports mitigation of climate change and other environmental pressures to the planet. Circulating materials in anthropogenic processes come with the risk of accumulating hazardous substances and compounds. In this concept, waste incineration or waste-to-energy (WtE) is a necessary technology to remove these compounds from the life cycle. In this mini-review, contaminants of major importance in the flue gas from waste incineration plants and their environmental impact are discussed. Air pollution of WtE is often seen as the most relevant environmental impact of this treatment option. The emission values parameter set for different countries is presented and compared. The most stringent legally set of emission values could be found in parts of Europe and South Korea. Japan also permits similar strict values when authorising individual incineration plants. In North America, the values are partially less strict as the best available technologies in Europe suggest being possible. Emerging economies, such as India and China, have shown efforts to improve their environmental protection standards but still have room to improve. This could be set in relation to other industrial emitting processes and therefore could be used to assess the relevance of this industry sector to the national emission inventories. KW - Waste incineration KW - Waste-to-energy KW - Limit values KW - Regulation KW - Emission KW - Air pollution control PY - 2021 DO - https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X211060607 SN - 0734-242X SN - 1096-3669 VL - 40 IS - 7 SP - 849 EP - 858 PB - Sage Publishing CY - London AN - OPUS4-53858 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Schoknecht, Ute T1 - The Impact of Weather Conditions on Biocides in Paints N2 - Aim. The European biocidal products regulation requires environmental risk assessments for biocidal products under service conditions. This is only possible, if processes that lead to biocide emissions into the environment are understood and can be reasonably predicted. Actual emissions due to leaching result from different processes that are affected by material properties and environmental conditions. Transformation of biocides can affect emissions considerably. Leaching and possible transformation of the film preservatives carbendazim, diuron, OIT and terbutryn in paints was observed under laboratory and field conditons in order to investigate the influence of different factors, e.g. water contact and radiation on biocide emissions. The paints contained either white titanium dioxide or a red iron oxide pigment to check whether pigments affect leaching processes. Methods. Test specimens of a water-based styrene acrylic dispersion paint on glass were exposed to UVA-radiation in a UV weathering device and/or exposed to water contact by immersion events on the basis of the European standard EN 16105. Plywood panels were coated and exposed to natural weather conditions in a semi-field experiment. Concentrations of biocides and transformation products were analysed in leachates from laboratory tests, runoff samples and remaining coatings. Results. The impact of weathering conditions on transformation processes differs for the investigated active substances. Water contact, radiation as well as pigments in the paints determine the pattern and amount of transformation products on coatings, leachates and runoff water. Observations from laboratory and field experiments were compared. It proved that results from laboratory tests support understanding of data from field experiments. Detailed knowledge on the fate of active substances under environmental conditions supports manufacturers to develop safe applications of film preservatives and authorities to evaluate its environmental impact. T2 - European Technical Coatings Congress 2022 CY - Kraków, Poland DA - 12.07.2022 KW - Paints KW - Biocides KW - Transformation KW - Emission PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55274 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Horn, Wolfgang T1 - VOC-Sampling inside display cases with focus on BEMMA evaluation N2 - Museum display cases aim to protect art and cultural goods not only from theft and vandalism, but also from dirt and dust. An often-heard argument within a call for tender of new display cases is that there should be no emission inside of the display case. This is nearly impossible for new ones especially when they must also fulfill the requirement of an air change rate of less than 0.1 per day. For example, constructions or decorations in exhibition spaces, storage containers in depot rooms, and exhibition display cases release volatile substances that might lead to irreversible changes or, under certain circumstances, damage to the stored or displayed objects. In Germany beneath the well-established Oddy-test also the BEMMA procedure is used to evaluate the construction materials. For larger amounts of display cases control measurements of VOCs at the end of construction or buildup is quite common. However, what is necessary to measure the air inside of display cases. What are the circumstances when the display cases were closed before the test period? Is it possible to organize a clean environment for reliable measurements. How comparable are the resulting VOCs with results from BEMMA test and control measurement at the end. The BEMMA procedure should include a further VOC-test at 60 °C. What are the benefits of this enlargement. Mainly materials that have a high potential to store VOCs inside of the material in combination with a less permeable surface should be evaluated stricter than others. T2 - IAQ 2024 The International Conference on Indoor Air Quality in Heritage and Historic Environments CY - New York, USA DA - 18.11.2024 KW - Emission KW - Air quality KW - Display cases KW - VOC PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-61967 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Strzelczyk, Rebecca T1 - Zeolites loaded with VOCs as reference for material emissions testing N2 - Nowadays, people spend most of their time indoors. Thus, a good indoor air quality is important. Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from furniture and building materials can cause health complaints1. Quantitative VOC-emission testing is carried out under standardized conditions in emission test chambers. In the presented project an emission reference material (ERM) is developed that emits a defined mixture of VOCs which is required for quality assurance and -control (QA/QC) measures. Porous materials (e.g zeolites, activated carbons, MOFs or aerogels) are used as reservoir materials and impregnated with VOC. The porous materials are selected, among others, by their pore size, pore size distribution, polarity and availability. Due to their regular pore structure zeolites are tested at first. For a prediction of the emission profile, the ERM is supposed to exhibit a constant emission rate over time. The aim is a stability of ≤ 10 % change in the emission rate over a minimum of 14 days. Method For impregnation, the material is placed into an autoclave inside a rotatable basket. The VOC is added and the autoclave is closed. Afterwards, CO2 is inserted. The closed system is then heated to the supercritical point of CO2 (31 °C, 73.75 bar). In this state, the CO2 acts as solvent for the VOC. By rotating the basket, the distribution of the VOC is ensured. After a few minutes, the pressure is decreased slowly and the CO2 is released. For the determination of the emission profile, the impregnated sample is placed into an emission test chamber. These chambers can be operated either with dry or humid air (50 ± 5 % rel. humidity). Every second to third day, air samples are taken and analyzed by gas chromatography. For an ideal impregnation, several different pressures and temperatures as well as impregnation times are tested. Results Two zeolite materials tested in dry air conditions reach emission profiles with a decrease of less than 10 % over 14 days (heptane and toluene, respectively). Further it was discovered that smaller pellets of the same zeolite show better results than bigger particles. When the pore size of a zeolite is too small, e.g. 0.3 nm, the VOC cannot be absorbed sufficiently. The main disadvantage of zeolites is their hygroscopicity because it has a large impact on the release of VOC when they are used in emission test chambers under standardized test conditions (23 °C, 50 % rel. humidity). Activated carbons have emission profiles with a larger change over 14 days. However, the high hydrophobicity allows measurements in humid air conditions which was not possible with the before mentioned hygroscopic zeolites. It is possible to impregnate powdered materials as well, and thus powdered non-hygroscopic (n.h.) zeolites were impregnated. Their emission profiles are comparable to those of the activated carbons. The use of methylated hygroscopic zeolites with a decrease in hygroscopicity did not yield successful emission measurements. The change over 14 days is calculated only for the stable phase (~250–300 h). The desired stability of ≤ 10 % change of the emission rate over 14 days could already be reached under dry testing conditions. Further investigations under humid conditions show that zeolites with high Si/Al-ratios are non-hygroscopic and comparable to activated carbons (20–30 % change). The next step is to reduce the change in the emission rate of these materials to the aimed ≤ 10 % over 14 days. T2 - Deutsche Zeolithtagung CY - Jena, Germany DA - 28.02.2024 KW - VOC KW - Emission KW - Quality assurance KW - Reference material KW - Zeolite PY - 2024 AN - OPUS4-59843 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Strzelczyk, Rebecca T1 - Constant emitting reference material for emissions test procedures N2 - Since nowadays people spend most of their time indoors, a healthy environment is essential. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from furniture and building materials are reported to cause health complaints. Therefore, the usage of low emitting materials will improve the indoor air quality. Quantitative VOC emission testing is usually conducted in emission test chambers under specified controlled conditions as described in DIN 16000-9 and DIN EN 16516. For reasons of quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) and for a better comparability of test results from different laboratories, suitable emission reference materials (ERM) are needed. Here, it is important to have a homogenous material with known emission rates over a specific time. Different approaches can be found in literature, inter alia polymer films loaded with the target compound to be released again, or a lacquer material to which a VOC mixture is added. After curing of the lacquer, the material can be loaded into a test chamber. Drawback of those approaches are their relatively fast decreasing emission profiles. For QC/QA purposes according to the test standards, VOC sources with constant emission profiles are desirable. The EU-funded research project MetrIAQ “Metrology for the determination of emissions of dangerous substances from building materials into indoor air” is working on a multi-component ERM with an envisaged instability of ≤ 10 % in the emission rate over at least 14 days. Within a doctoral thesis porous materials are impregnated with VOCs. Supercritical CO2 is used as solvent. Thus, the impregnated material does not contain any solvent that may show a measurable amount of emission in the emission test chamber. Furthermore, CO2 has the benefits to have a good availability and low costs. For the selection of porous materials several properties like the pore size, the surface, and the interaction with the components in the atmosphere need to be considered. The impregnation method is optimised while the different porous materials are tested. For the selection of porous materials the pores need to be large enough for the VOC molecules, further influence of the pore size is tested. T2 - Healthy Buildings CY - Aachen, Germany DA - 11.06.2023 KW - VOC KW - Emission KW - Quality assurance KW - Reference material PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-59842 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Horn, Wolfgang A1 - Müller, Birgit T1 - Low-odour and low-emission indoor products - Nose vers. odour threshold values N2 - To achieve good air quality in buildings, it is necessary to remove, avoid or reduce cleaning loads through ventilation. To reduce the cleaning loads and their effect on the odour perception of the occupants, a sensory test in indoor spaces and on building products is necessary in addition to VOC emission measurements of the contaminants. ISO 16000-28 provides the basis for odour assessment of products using a human olfactory panel. Through many years of experience and testing of these methods, it can now be assumed that reproducible odour ratings are available for many products used indoors. An odour measurement is mandatory for the Blue Angel for carpets and is being tested for environmentally friendly resilient floor coverings. Based on the results of an earlier project and new results of the upcoming study, the ISO should be revised and completed. The project investigates the odour and VOC emissions of building products based on natural raw materials. The data generated is used to address several issues, which are briefly explained below. Floor coverings based on linoleum and rubber are included in the Blue Angel eco-label with an odour assessment. The aim of the project is to clarify whether other assessment methods in addition to intensity can provide better information. Positive hedonics have an influence on the intensity assessment. Typically, building products show high intensity with low hedonic values. Results for wood-based products often show high intensity and positive hedonics. Based on these examples, an appropriate odour assessment of wood-based products for the Blue Angel, supported by research results, should be possible. The concept of the odour guide value which is based on odour threshold values was renewed in 2023. This approach will now be compared with the standardised odour measurement (16000-28). This assessment is based on GC/MS measurements and uses odour thresholds analytically when panel-based odour assessment is not possible. For this procedure well defined odour thresholds are necessary T2 - AIRMON 2025 The 11th International Symposium on Modern Principles of Air Monitoring and Biomonitoring. CY - Loen, Norway DA - 15.06.2025 KW - Emission KW - Indoor air quality KW - Materials emissions test KW - VOC KW - Geruch PY - 2025 UR - https://stami.no/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Programhefte-Airmon-2025-Juni-10-YTH.pdf AN - OPUS4-63634 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -