Effect of resin content and substrate on the emission of BTEX and carbonyls from low-VOC water-based wall paint.

The primary aim of this work is to explore the effect of resin content and the effect of substrate on the emission of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) and carbonyls from low-VOC water-based wall paint. Four low-volatile organic compound (VOC) paints include paints A (20% acrylic), B (30% acrylic), C (20% polyvinyl acetate), and D (30% polyvinyl acetate) were painted on stainless steel specimen for the study of resin effect. Green calcium silicate, green cement, and stainless steel were painted with paints A and C for the study of substrate effect. Concentrations of the VOCs in the chamber decreased with the elapsed time. Both resin type and resin quantity in paint had effects on VOC emissions. Paints with acrylic resin emitted less BTEX and carbonyls than paints with polyvinyl acetate resin. However, the effects of resin quantity varied with VOCs. Porous substrates were observed to interact more strongly with paints than inert substrates. Both green calcium silicate and green cement substrates have strong power of adsorption of VOCs from wall paints, namely toluene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, 2-butanone, methacrolein, butyraldehyde, and benzaldehyde. Some compounds like toluene, formaldehyde, and butyaldehyde were desorbed very slowly from green calcium silicate and green cement substrates.