Articles | Volume 17, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1545-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1545-2024
Research article
 | 
12 Mar 2024
Research article |  | 12 Mar 2024

Absorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by polymer tubing: implications for indoor air and use as a simple gas-phase volatility separation technique

Melissa A. Morris, Demetrios Pagonis, Douglas A. Day, Joost A. de Gouw, Paul J. Ziemann, and Jose L. Jimenez

Model code and software

Tubing Model Repository M. A. Morris, D. Pagonis, and L. B. Algrim https://gitlab.com/JimenezGroup/JG_SurfacePartitioning/

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Short summary
Polymer absorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is important to characterize for atmospheric sampling setups (as interactions cause sampling delays) and indoor air quality. Here we test different polymer materials and quantify their absorptive capacities through modeling. We found the main polymers in carpets to be highly absorptive, acting as large reservoirs for indoor pollution. We also demonstrated how polymer tubes can be used as a low-cost gas separation technique.