Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a trait known as volatility.
VOCs are responsible for the odor of scents and perfumes as well as pollutants. VOCs play an important role in communication between animals and plants, e.g. attractants for pollinators, protection from predation, and even inter-plant interactions. Some VOCs are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. Anthropogenic VOCs are regulated by law, especially indoors, where concentrations are the highest. Most VOCs are not acutely toxic, but may have long-term chronic health effects. Some VOCs have been used in pharmacy, others are target of administrative controls because of their recreational use.
Diverse definitions of the term VOC are in use. Some examples are presented below.
Health Canada classifies VOCs as organic compounds that have boiling points roughly in the range of . The emphasis is placed on commonly encountered VOCs that would have an effect on air quality.
The European Union defines a VOC as "any organic compound as well as the fraction of creosote, having at 293.15 K a vapour pressure of 0,01 kPa or more, or having a corresponding volatility under the particular conditions of use;". The VOC Solvents Emissions Directive was the main policy instrument for the reduction of industrial emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the European Union. It covers a wide range of solvent-using activities, e.g. printing, surface cleaning, vehicle coating, dry cleaning and manufacture of footwear and pharmaceutical products. The VOC Solvents Emissions Directive requires installations in which such activities are applied to comply either with the emission limit values set out in the Directive or with the requirements of the so-called reduction scheme.
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The course is an introduction to heterogeneous catalysis for environmental protection and energy production. It focusses on catalytic exhaust gas cleaning as well as catalytic systems relevant for gas
This course provides students with an overview over the basics of environmental chemistry. This includes the chemistry of natural systems, as well as the fate of anthropogenic chemicals in natural sys
This course provides a fundamental knowledge of an emerging area - indoor air quality. This course also gives an overview of ventilation strategies and airflow distribution strategies tuned to ensure
Particulates or atmospheric particulate matter (see below for other names) are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The term aerosol commonly refers to the particulate/air mixture, as opposed to the particulate matter alone. Sources of particulate matter can be natural or anthropogenic. They have impacts on climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health, in ways additional to direct inhalation.
Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance, or separating the different components of a mixture. In preparative chromatography, GC can be used to prepare pure compounds from a mixture. Gas chromatography is also sometimes known as vapor-phase chromatography (VPC), or gas–liquid partition chromatography (GLPC).
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. It is also the contamination of indoor or outdoor surrounding either by chemical activities, physical or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases (including ammonia, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane and chlorofluorocarbons), particulates (both organic and inorganic), and biological molecules.
Covers the procedure of loss on ignition in the laboratory.
Explores the analysis of organic substances, biochemical oxygen demand, bacterial biomass, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, and the impact of phosphates on aquatic environments.
Explores background sites, NO₂ health effects, ozone history, and NOx reduction strategies.
Chemical oxidants applied in water treatment are electrophiles, which preferentially attack sites with higher electron density. This typically results in less efficient oxidative abatement of organic compounds with electronwithdrawing substituents. In this ...
Sea spray aerosols (SSA) greatly affect the climate system by scattering solar radiation and acting as seeds for cloud droplet formation. The ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean are rapidly changing due to global warming, and the effects these changes have on t ...
2024
JUK-8 ([Zn(oba)(pip)]n, oba2- = 4,4 '-oxybis(benzenedicarboxylate), pip = 4-pyridyl-functionalized benzene-1,3-dicarbohydrazide) is a hydrolytically stable flexible metal-organic framework. Owing to its unusual adsorptive properties, JUK-8 can be considere ...