Characterization of Emissions from Spray Polyurethane Foam

Download or read book Characterization of Emissions from Spray Polyurethane Foam written by Dustin Poppendieck and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 42 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation increases building energy efficiency by reducing conductive and convective heat losses through the building envelope and is used in both new construction and retrofit applications. Health complaints relating to emissions from SPF installations have spurred a joint industry and federal effort to develop standard methods to quantify airborne emissions from SPF. As part of this effort, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) tasked the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with developing testing and measurement protocols to determine the quantities and properties of compounds released from SPF, such as amine catalysts and aldehydes, as it is applied in residential settings. Specifically, this effort examined if micro-chamber emission results can be used to determine concentrations in indoor environments and to quantify the emissions from a SPF sample that was applied in a potentially non-ideal manner. The data demonstrate that emissions from SPF are chemical, temperature, flow, and foam type dependent. Micro-chamber data can be used to compare chemical emission profiles from various foams, but micro-chamber emission rates for flame retardants cannot be directly applied to full scale emissions in a building. The results from examining SPF in a residential test home suggest that occupants may be exposed to measureable concentrations of the flame retardant tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) two years after application of open cell foam. CPSC submitted a SPF sample suggestive of being applied in a non-ideal manner. When the submitted SPF was tested in the micro-chamber, over 17 different chemicals were identified with a spectrum match, seven of which had not been previously identified in literature emitting from other foams. Of the chemicals for which concentrations were quantified in the micro-chamber experiments, triethylenediamine concentrations were the highest. The emission rates of six chemicals were quantified from the SPF. The emission rates of all chemicals except for TCPP decreased in a negative exponential manner. More information on chemicals emitted from SPF in buildings are needed to determine if the tested foam is indeed a misapplied foam. Emission rates in this document apply only to micro-chamber conditions. This data should not be used to predict full-scale emissions until further testing has determined mass transfer parameters.