Consumer products as a source of volatile organic compound emissions

The contribution of consumer product volatile emissions to indoor air pollution, and the resulting health and environmental implications, is an area of research that has gained increased interest in the past couple of decades. Being able to characterise, quantify, report, and subsequently predict these emissions is essential if any changes are to be made, either in consumer attitudes, manufacturing processes or government product regulations. This thesis aims to address this by three distinct analyses on consumer products using on-line mass-spectrometry, accompanied by a detailed global literature assessment, structured as four published journal papers.

Selected-Ion Flow-Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) has been utilised for headspace analysis of around 30 common personal care products (PCPs) to identify the most prevalent volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. Emission rates were then calculated based on the amount of product used. A second experiment measured VOC emissions after the application of products in a shower study using Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometry, identifying discrepancies between expected VOC mass emitted (based on headspace analysis) and what was observed after real-life application. The relationship between product application site (proximity) and inhalation of VOCs from facial moisturisers was subsequently assessed using a novel mannequin-head applicant replica, utilising SIFT-MS in another real-life application scenario coupled with product headspace analysis. Finally, global industry data for the production of aerosolised consumer products was assessed to predict both current and future VOC emissions that arise from their use. This analysis is supported by population and economic classification predictions for 215 nations, some of which are grouped for ease of analysis, up to the year 2050.