Aldehyde emissions from particleboard and medium density fiberboard products

Indoor air quality problems resulting from the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have become an issue of increasing concern. Emissions from building and furnishing materials, which are frequently constructed from particleboard and medium density fiberboard (MDF), are a potentially important contributor of indoor VOCs. In this research, VOC emissions from particleboard and MDF were measured in small (53-L) stainless steel chambers for 4 days. Samples were collected from 53 of the 61 US mills that produce particleboard and MDF. Each mill identified the predominant tree species used to manufacture the panels. This study describes the aldehyde emission data, excluding fonnaldehyde. Emissions of small straight-chain aldehydes, such as hexanal, pentanal, heptanal, octanal, and nonanal, generally exceeded emissions of other compounds and accounted for more than 50% of total VOC emissions.