Indoor air quality is a major public health issue. It is related to the choice of construction materials and associated with VOC emissions. Two wood-based commercial panels were tested: a medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and a chipboard (CH), and they were compared to a material produced from a coriander biorefinery (COR). Indicators chosen to compare the materials were physical properties (density, bending properties, surface hardness, thickness swelling, and water absorption) and VOC emissions. Emissions were evaluated in an environmental chamber at 23 °C, 31 °C, and 36 °C, and during 28 days. Carbonyl emissions on day 1 at 23 °C were 74, 146, and 35 μg m-2 h-1, respectively, for MDF, CH, and COR. Terpenic emissions were 12, 185, and 37 μg m-2 h-1, respectively. Higher temperature resulted in higher emissions which decreased over time, except for formaldehyde. VOC emissions depended largely on material and temperature. Formaldehyde emission was 300 to 600 times lower for coriander boards (< 0.2 μg m-2 h-1), making them significantly more environmentally friendly materials in comparison with MDF and chipboard. These results highlight the interest of coriander by-products as raw materials for producing fiberboards with low impact on indoor air quality.
Keywords: Chipboard; Coriander; Formaldehyde; MDF; Self-bonded fiberboards; VOC emissions.