Simple Method To Measure the Vapor Pressure of Phthalates and Their Alternatives

Phthalates and alternative plasticizers are semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), an important class of indoor pollutants that may have significant adverse effects on human health. Unfortunately, models that predict emissions of and the resulting exposure to SVOCs have substantial uncertainties. One reason is that the characteristics governing emissions, transport, and exposure are usually strongly dependent on vapor pressure. Furthermore, available data for phthalates exhibit significant variability, and vapor pressures for the various alternatives are usually unavailable. For these reasons, a new approach based on modeling of the evaporation process was developed to determine vapor pressures of phthalates and alternate plasticizers. A laminar flow forced convection model was used in the design of a partial saturator (PS) tube. The mass transfer mechanisms in the PS tube are accurately modeled and enable the determination of vapor pressure even when the carrier gas is not completely saturated, avoiding the complicated procedure to establish vapor saturation. The measured vapor pressures ranged from about 10–2 to 10–7 Pa. Compared to the traditional gas saturation method, the model-based approach is advantageous in terms of both predictability and simplicity. The knowledge provides new insight into experimental design and a sound basis for further method development.