A critical review on studies of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) sorption by building materials

The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the pros and cons of existing sorption models, as well as experimental methods. In addition, it summarizes existing sorption data in order to understand the phenomenon of VOC sorption on building materials better and to direct future research. We found that existing sorption models can be generally classified into either first order adsorption/desorption rate models or equilibrium-interface models. The adsorption/desorption rate models are simple and easy to use, but the model parameters have to be obtained from experimental data by curve fitting. The parameters of the equilibrium-interface models can be obtained through independent measurements, but lacking material property data and high computing costs hinder their applications. The sorption of VOCs on building materials is usually measured by the widely used small-scale chamber test method. The sink strength can be affected by the chemical properties of VOCs, physical properties of materials, and environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and air velocity.