M cte250

Aluminum weigh boats (Fischer Scientific, Waltham, MA) were conditioned for 1 h in an oven at 250°C, allowed to cool to room temperature, and used immediately for chamber testing. A small amount (100–300 mg) of each oil was placed in an aluminum boat and heated in a micro-chamber/thermal extractor (M-CTE250, Markes International Inc., Gold River, CA) to 25°C (control), 150°C, or 250°C (Figure 1) with sample collection beginning immediately with the first of four tubes as described below. Because of fouling from the oils at high temperatures, the microchamber was cleaned with methylene chloride and baked at 250°C for one h between trials. VEA, vitamin E oil, coconut oil, and MCT were tested. Some of the trials were repeated to check reproducibility of chemical emission profiles: VEA at 250°C, vitamin E at 250°C, coconut oil at 150°C, and MCT at 150°C.

The microchamber thermal extractor and Tenax-TA adsorption tubes (Fig. 4) was produced by Markes International of the United Kingdom (model M-CTE250). Nitrogen was used as the carrier gas, and the temperature could be adjusted in the range of 0 °C–250 °C. The tube length was 89 mm, the outer diameter was 6.4 mm, and it contained 2,6-diphenylfuran porous polymer resin filler. The two ends were equipped with copper caps, which could effectively adsorb VOCs volatilized from wood-based panels and store them in the tubes.Figure 4

Photograph of sampling equipment. (a): Tenax-TA adsorption tubes in sampling; (b): Microchamber thermal extractor.