Volatile organic compound and formaldehyde emissions from Populus davidiana wood treated with low molecular weight...

Populus davidiana wood was usually impregnated with low molecular weight thermosetting resins to improve its physical and mechanical properties. However, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde emitted from treated wood have lead to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). The trends of VOC and formaldehyde emissions as a function of the weight percent gain (WPG) factor were mainly investigated in this work. Aldehydes and alkanes were the predominant compositions indentified in the VOC emissions, although low amount of ketones, terpenes and alcohols were also found. With the increase in WPG, VOC and formaldehyde concentrations improved. However, their concentration began to decrease when WPG was over 44.06% (VOC) and 36.35% (formaldehyde), respectively. The modulus of elasticity (MOE) of untreated and treated wood at different WPG levels was detected. It showed that treatment of wood with UF resin significantly improved the mechanical properties. Therefore, it is probably helpful to comprehensively analyze correlations among environmental performance, mechanical performance and processing costs.