VOCs In New Car Interiors

VOCs In New Car Interiors

We all get excited when we purchase a brand new car and jump inside to find that distinctive ‘new car smell,’ some people love it and some people hate it. Where does this smell come from? Is it harmful?These are questions that are commonly asked.

Car Interiors consist of different components made of various materials, such as plastics, glue, lubricants or paint exhibiting the potential for outgassing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which can be harmful to human health. Several studies depicted the appearance of VOCs in new cars, which is commonly known as ‘new car smell.’

Typical harmful compounds found in new car interiors are:

  • acetaldehyde
  • acrolein
  • benzene
  • toluene
  • ethylbenzene
  • o-,m-,p-xylene
  • styrene

Our GC-IMS system provides the ideal solution. It makes a novel approach for detection and quantification of VOC outgassings by using the combination of automated analyte enrichment and desorption, gas chromatography (GC) and ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) combining excellent selectivity with extraordinary sensitivity within one measuring device.

The developed system detects and quantifies all the afore-mentioned VOCs down to a concentration level of 5ppb and lower,in addition to this the cycle time is only 15 minutes.