[Volatile Organic Compound Emission Characteristics of Furniture Manufacturing Enterprises and the Influence on the...

The furniture manufacturing industry is a typical industry with high pollution, low added value, relatively outdated technology and low levels of pollution control. The process of furniture manufacturing uses a large number of paints and adhesives, which emit a great quantity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The furniture manufacturing industry is a key industry for the control of VOCs in China. The VOCs emission characteristics and environmental impact of the furniture manufacturing industry has been studied in this work, which could be helpful for the Chinese government when formulating VOCs pollution control policy for this industry. In this study, a typical furniture manufacturing enterprise was chosen as the object. The emission concentration level and source profile of VOCs in a typical enterprise was obtained, and an assessment of the environmental impact of furniture manufacturing was developed. The results showed that the concentration of VOCs in the workshop ranged from 9.18 to 181.58 mg·m^-3, the concentration of VOCs in the stack was 30.64-155.94 mg·m^-3, and the treatment efficiency was 7.43%-67.14%. The main species of VOCs in the workshop were aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, and aldehydes and ketones; the main species of VOCs in the stack are esters and aromatic hydrocarbons, followed by alkanes, and the main VOCs in the industry are sec-butyl acetate, toluene, m-xylene, methylal and ethylbenzene. The average ozone generation potential (OFP) of workshop and stack VOCs was 258.01 and 289.14 mg·m^-3, respectively, and the average secondary organic aerosol generation potential (SOAFP) of workshop and stack VOCs was 148.66 and 165.31 mg·m^-3, respectively. The most important contribution to the OFP and SOAFP in each emission sector is aromatic hydrocarbons. The OFP and SOAFP in the edge-sealing workshop are large and the VOCs should be controlled. The main malodorous substances at the shop boundary are sec-butyl acetate, m-xylene, butyl acetate, p-xylene, ethylbenzene, 1-ethyl-3-methylbenzene, o-xylene, and toluene; the VOCs at the factory boundary produce almost no odor pollution. Targeted enhanced control of aromatic hydrocarbons and esters should be adopted to achieve effective emission reduction of VOCs in furniture manufacturing.