Chemical composition, odor characteristics and risk value analysis of odorants in particleboards

The pungent odor emitted by particleboards affect people's physical and mental health. However, traditional methods using a sensory odor panel cannot determine the chemical composition and source of odorants, and cannot assess the risk of odor. In this study, the threshold odor concentration (TOC) value of terpenes in woody raw materials were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O), and the TOC and the lowest concentration of interest (LCI) databases of particleboard odorants was established based on self-test and literature retrieval. Then, the odor activity value (OAV) and risk value (RV) of the main odor compounds were calculated and evaluated based on their TOC and LCI value. The results showed that benzene series, terpenes, acetic acid, hexaldehydes and other small molecules were the predominant substances released from particleboards. Although acetic acid (strong, pungent, vinegar-like odor), p-, m-xylene (pungent aroma), 1-butanol (spicy alcohol), o-xylene (pungent aroma), benzaldehyde (bitter almond flavor), naphthalene (strong tar flavor) had pungent odor, the main odorants (OAV>1) were aldehydes (such as hexanal, nonanal, pentanal and heptanal), terpenes (such as longifolene), and benzene series (p-, m-xylene). The reduction of aldehydes, terpenes and benzene series was the main way to reduce the pungent odor of particleboards. Although the single RV of these substances was much less than 1, the sum of all RV in HB exceeded 1. Therefore, the use of HB indoors needs careful consideration.