Research on release rate of volatile organic compounds in typical vessel cabin

  Objectives  Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) should be efficiently controlled in vessel cabins to ensure the crew's health and navigation safety. As an important parameter, research on release rate of VOCs in cabins is required.

  Methods  This paper develops a method to investigate this parameter of a ship's cabin based on methods used in other closed indoor environments. A typical vessel cabin is sampled with Tenax TA tubes and analyzed by Automated Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (ATD-GC/MS). The lumped mode is used and the release rate of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX), the typical representatives of VOCs, is obtained both in closed and ventilated conditions.

  Results  The results show that the content of xylene and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) exceed the indoor environment standards in ventilated conditions. The BTEX release rate is similar in both conditions except for the benzene.

  Conclusions  This research builds a method to measure the release rate of VOCs, providing references for pollution character evaluation and ventilation and purification system design.