ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Passive sampling application to control air quality in interior of new vehicles

Joanna Faber, Krzysztof Brodzik, Anna Gołda-Kopek, Damian Łomankiewicz, Jan Nowak, and Antoni Świątek

BOSMAL Automotive Research and Development Institute Ltd., Sarni Stok 93, 43-300 Bielsko-Biała, Poland

E-mail: joanna.faber@bosmal.com.pl

Abstract: The investigation of air pollution is a highly important field of research. Air quality in a vehicle’s interior has attracted growing attention since people spend much of their time in vehicles and those frequently travelling in new cars are exposed to harmful compounds. The main air pollutants inside new vehicles are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), present as a result of interior materials’ de-gassing. Among the sampling methods used in indoor air quality research, active sampling for VOCs collection is one method that has been extensively described and applied. The present study sought to implement passive sampling with Radiello^® samplers to collect air samples directly in the car factory. The results from passive sampling were compared with results derived from active sampling using Carbograph 1TD and silicagel coated with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine cartridges, based on previously validated methods. The identification and quantification of organic compounds was performed using gas chromatography with flame ionisation coupled with a mass spectrometer after thermal desorption. Aldehydes were determined by means of high-performance liquid chromatography. In the present study, the results obtained with the use of active and passive methods of air sampling were compared, correlations between the two sampling methods were designated and the repeatability of passive sampling was detailed.

Keywords: passive sampling – active sampling – volatile organic compounds – vehicle interior – interior air quality

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1515/chempap-2015-0091

Chemical Papers 69 (6) 799–809 (2015)