EN ISO 15234:2010

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-januar-2012
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Paints and varnishes - Testing of formaldehyde-emitting coatings and melamine foams -
Determination of the steady-state concentration of formaldehyde in a small test chamber
(ISO 15234:1999)
Beschichtungsstoffe - Prüfung von Formaldehyd emittierenden Beschichtungen und
Melamin-Schaumstoffen - Bestimmung der Ausgleichskonzentration an Formaldehyd in
einem kleinen Prüfraum (ISO 15234:1999)
Peintures et vernis - Essais des revêtements et mousses mélamines qui émettent du
formaldéhyde - Détermination de la concentration à l'équilibre du formaldéhyde dans une
petite chambre d'essai (ISO 15234:1999)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 15234:2010
ICS:
87.040 Barve in laki Paints and varnishes
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN ISO 15234
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
November 2010
ICS 87.040
English Version
Paints and varnishes - Testing of formaldehyde-emitting
coatings and melamine foams - Determination of the steady-
state concentration of formaldehyde in a small test chamber
(ISO 15234:1999)
Peintures et vernis - Essais des revêtements et mousses Beschichtungsstoffe - Prüfung von Formaldehyd
mélamines qui émettent du formaldéhyde - Détermination
emittierenden Beschichtungen und Melaminschaumstoffen
de la concentration à l'équilibre du formaldéhyde dans une - Bestimmung der Ausgleichskonzentration an
petite chambre d'essai (ISO 15234:1999) Formaldehyd in einem kleinen Prüfraum (ISO 15234:1999)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 16 October 2010.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same
status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2010 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN ISO 15234:2010: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword .3

Foreword
The text of ISO 15234:1999 has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 35 “Paints and varnishes” of
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has been taken over as EN ISO 15234:2010 by
Technical Committee CEN/TC 139 “Paints and varnishes” the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by May 2011, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the
latest by May 2011.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 15234:1999 has been approved by CEN as a EN ISO 15234:2010 without any modification.

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 15234
First edition
1999-02-15
Paints and varnishes — Testing of
formaldehyde-emitting coatings and
melamine foams — Determination of the
steady-state concentration of formaldehyde
in a small test chamber
Peintures et vernis — Essais des revêtements et mousses mélamines qui
émettent du formaldéhyde — Détermination de la concentration à l’équilibre
du formaldéhyde dans une petite chambre d'essai
A
Reference number
ISO 15234:1999(E)
ISO 15234:1999(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide
federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of
preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which
a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented
on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-
governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO
collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are
circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International
Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting
a vote.
International Standard ISO 15234 was prepared by Technical Committee
ISO/TC 35, Paints and varnishes, Subcommittee SC 10, Test methods for
binders for paints and varnishes.
Annexes A and B form an integral part of this International Standard.
Annex C is for information only.
©  ISO 1999
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
microfilm, without permission in writing from the publisher.
International Organization for Standardization
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Genève 20 • Switzerland
Internet iso@iso.ch
Printed in Switzerland
ii
©
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD  ISO ISO 15234:1999(E)
Paints and varnishes — Testing of formaldehyde-emitting coatings
and melamine foams — Determination of the steady-state
concentration of formaldehyde in a small test chamber
1  Scope
This International Standard specifies a test method for determining the equilibrium concentration of formaldehyde
from formaldehyde-emitting coatings and melamine foams in a small test chamber.
It describes the determination of the equilibrium concentration of formaldehyde that is established in air at 23 °C and
50 % relative humidity. The test closely simulates practical conditions and can be performed on a laboratory scale.
Good correlation is obtained with values obtained on samples of the same material in a 40 m test chamber. The
method, which is simple to perform, is therefore suitable for the preliminary determination of limits that have to be
adhered to.
2  Normative references
The following standards contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this
International Standard. At the time of publication, the editions indicated were valid. All standards are subject to
revision, and parties to agreements based on this International Standard are encouraged to investigate the
possibility of applying the most recent editions of the standards indicated below. Members of IEC and ISO maintain
registers of currently valid International Standards.
ISO 3270:1984,
Paints and varnishes and their raw materials — Temperatures and humidities for conditioning and
testing.
ISO 3696:1987, Water for analytical laboratory use — Specification and test method.
3  Definitions
For the purposes of this International Standard, the following definitions apply.
3.1
equilibrium concentration
c
eql
the concentration of formaldehyde in the air in the test chamber that is reached when several successive values of
the concentration determined at one-hour intervals differ by less than 0,02 mg/m
©
ISO
ISO 15234:1999(E)
3.2
air-replacement rate
n
the number of air changes per hour in the test chamber, given by
V
t
n=
tV×
where
V is the volume, in cubic metres, of air passed through the test chamber during the test;
t
t is the duration, in hours, of the test;
is the volume, in cubic metres, of the test chamber
V
3.3
relative specimen area
a
the area of formaldehyde-emitting surface per unit volume of the test chamber, given, in square metres per cubic
–1
metre (i.e. m ), by
A
a=
V
where
A is the area of the specimen, in square metres (see annexes A and B);
V is the volume, in cubic metres, of the test chamber
3.4
steady-state ratio
n/a
the ratio of the air-replacement rate n to the relative specimen area a, given, in metres per hour, by
V
t
n/a =
tA·
where
V is the volume, in cubic metres, of air passed through the test chamber during the test;
t
t is the duration, in hours, of the test;
A is the area, in square metres, of the specimen
3.5
formaldehyde concentration
c
the concentration, in milligrams per cubic metre, of formaldehyde at a given steady-state ratio n/a over the period
of time concerned, given by
m
c=
V
t
where
m is the mass, in milligrams, of formaldehyde;
V is the volume, in cubic metres, of air passed through the test chamber during the test
t
NOTE  The value determined for c can be converted into ppm by dividing by the density of formaldehyde, i.e. by 1,22 g/l at
a temperature of 23 °C and an atmospheric pressure of 101,3 kPa.
©
ISO
ISO 15234:1999(E)
4  Principle
Test specimens are conditioned at (23 – 1) °C and (50 – 3) % relative humidity and exposed under specified
conditions in a small test chamber (desiccator).
The desiccator is set up in an air-conditioned room so that air from the room can be passed first through the
desiccator and then into a water trap where formaldehyde (HCHO) is absorbed. The water in the water trap is
changed at regular intervals, and the formaldehyde concentration c is determined photometrically by the
acetylacetone method or another suitable method. The test is continued until the value measured for c no longer
changes (see 3.1). The equilibrium concentration c in the air in the test chamber is then considered to be
eql
attained.
5  Choice of method for determination of formaldehyde
The acetylacetone method has been chosen as the preferred method. Other methods of determination, e.g. a
fluorimetric method, may be used instead of the photometric method with acetylacetone, provided they can be
shown to give equivalent results. (See also annex C, clause C.7.)
6  Apparatus
Ordinary laboratory apparatus and glassware, together with the following:
6.1  Air-conditioned room or similar facility, maintained at a temperature of (23 – 1) °C and a relative humidity of
(50 – 3) %.
6.2  Apparatus (see figure 1) consisting of
— two gas-metering pumps, rate of pumping at least 100 l/h, pressure head dependent on pressure requirements,
— bubble counter;
—1 000 ml bottle with modified wash-bottle insert;
— test chamber, volume 20 l, such as a desiccator, with lid containing a wire cage for the specimens;
— hygrometer;
— two 30 ml wash-bottles with Muenke fitting, or other suitable absorption vessels;
— 500 ml wash-bottle filled with silica gel to act as a drying tower;
— flowmeter, measuring range 0 l/h to 100 l/h; with fine-control valve;
— integrating flowmeter, operating range 1 l/h to 220 l/h.
©
ISO
ISO 15234:1999(E)
Key
1 Gas-metering pumps
2 Bottle containing saturated calcium nitrate solution to bring the air to (50 – 2) % relative humidity
3 Vent tube with bubble counter
4 Test chamber
5 Specimens
6 Hygrometer
7 Wash-bottles/absorption vessels
8 Wash-bottle containing silica gel (drying tower)
9 Valve
10 Flowmeter
11 Integrating flowmeter
Figure 1 — Apparatus (schematic diagram)
If necessary, two bottles (2) may be connected in tandem. In this case, however, only the second bottle shall be fitted with a
vent tube (3).
Checks shall be made to ensure that there are no leaks in the apparatus during the test.
Connecting tubing shall be as short as possible.
6.3  Spectrophotometer or filter photometer with a 412 nm filter.
6.4  50 mm spectrophotometer cell.
6.5  100 ml, 500 ml and 1 000 ml volumetric flasks.
6.6  10 ml microburette.
6.7  1 ml volumetric pipette.
6.8  Water bath, capable of being maintained at (60 – 2) °C.
6.9  Analytical balance, capable of weighing to an accuracy of 0,1 mg.
©
ISO
ISO 15234:1999(E)
7  Reagents
During the analysis, use only reagents of recognized analytical grade and only water of at least grade 3 purity as
defined in ISO 3696.
7.1  Colour-developer solution.
Weigh 75,0 g of ammonium acetate into a 500 ml volumetric flask and dissolve in water. Add 1,5 ml of concentrated
acetic acid (96 % minimum) and 1,0 ml of acetylacetone. Make up to the mark with water and mix well.
The solution is not stable. It may not be kept for more than 14 days at room temperature (temperature no higher
than 28 °C).
7.2  Formaldehyde, standard stock solution containing about 1 g/l of formaldehyde.
Weigh about 3 g of 30 % formaldehyde solution into a 100 ml beaker and dilute wit
...