Small-scale passive emission chamber for screening studies on monoterpene emission flux from the surface of wood-based indoor elements Mariusz Marć, Jacek Namieśnik, Bożena Zabiegała ⁎ Department of Analytical Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland HIGHLIGHTS • The passive emission chamber as a useful tool for fast screening terpene emission flux • Emission flux of α-Pinene, 3-Carene, and D-Limonene from wood-based material was studied. • The effect of furnishing on indoor air quality of newly build apartment was studied. abstract article info Article history: Received 5 September 2013 Received in revised form 14 January 2014 Accepted 7 February 2014 Available online 23 February 2014 Keywords: Emission flux Small-scale passive emission chambers Indoor air quality Monoterpenes Wood-based materials Analysis of literature data published in the last few years leads to the conclusion that in the process of assessment of emission flux of organic compounds emitted from different types of equipment and finishing materials, new types of devices, among which small-scale passive emission chambers for the performance of in-situ research are designed and applied on a larger scale. These devices can be successfully used for the assessment of emission flux of organic compounds in any location of an apartment, with no interference with its normal exploitation. In the following article the possibility of application of a designed and constructed small-scale passive emission chamber for the evaluation of emission flux of organic compounds (mainly monoterpenes) emitted from the sur- face of wood-based material made of laminated chipboard has been presented. The emission chamber made from polished stainless steel of the inner volume of 3.65 dm 3 allows for the examination/assessment of emission flux from the surface of 452 cm 2 . A diffusive passive sampler was installed inside of the small-scale chamber, which enables collecting samples of the analytes emitted from the examined surface of indoor material. The working time of the passive emission chamber equaled 300 min. The results of preliminary studies show that, the constructed device can be successfully used for screening stud- ies, related with the determination of emission flux of monoterpenes from any type of wood-based flat surface located indoors. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Over the last few decades one can notice a clear turn in architectural engineering towards better calking of residential and office buildings by the use of energy saving thermal insulation (i.e. tight PVC windows) in order to save energy (Ng et al., 2012; Righi et al., 2002). Moreover, it can be noticed that the lack of optimal ventilation indoors (limited air exchange inside of a building) causes particular contamination which is present in indoor air on a relatively high level, being the reason for many respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous system diseases (Shinohara et al., 2009). Additionally, in recently built apartments, a new type of synthetic material is used as the elements of indoor equip- ment, the presence of which in an indoor environment may influence the kind, type and concentration of chemical compounds in indoor air (Shinohara et al., 2007; Wensing et al., 2005). The results of studies performed in many research centers clearly in- dicate that the presence of organic compounds that can threaten human health in indoor air, results from the fact, that they are emitted from the surface of building materials and indoor finishing elements such as: fur- niture and wood-based plates, paints, glues and flat surface covers (wall papers, PVC floors, carpets etc.). One of the main groups of organic Science of the Total Environment 481 (2014) 35–46 Abbreviations: BTEX, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o- m- and p-xylene; BVOCs, bio- genic volatile organic compounds; EU, European Union; FLEC, field and laboratory emis- sion cell; GC, gas chromatography; HDF, high-density fiberboard; MS, mass spectrometer; PFS, passive flux sampler; PVC, poly(vinyl chloride); SSPEC, small-scale pas- sive emission chamber; TD, thermal desorption; TWA, time weight average; UV, ultravio- let; VOCs, volatile organic compounds. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Str. 11/12, PL 80-233 Gdansk, Poland. E-mail address: bozena.zabiegala@pg.gda.pl (B. Zabiegała). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.021 0048-9697/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv