Volatile Organic Compounds

Volatile organic compounds (abbreviated VOC) are organic compounds with high volatility at room temperature (i.e. low boiling point) and low solubility in water. Numerous VOCs are artificially created chemicals used in organic chemistry and are part of our daily lives (paints, drugs, refrigerants, solvents, petrochemicals, refinery processes, cleaners, printing industry, cosmetics and perfumes, etc.). Today's way and level of life quality would be impossible without the use of VOC compounds and their derivatives. Unfortunately, most of them are poisonous, flammable and pollutants - certainly dangerous to the environment and human health. We are exposed to VOC compounds every day, at home, at work or in nature, and their monitoring and detection in endangered areas are crucial for our safety. EU directives, the most important of which is 1999/13 / EC, regulate the limits of exposure to VOC compounds in many industries. Monitoring of VOC compounds is crucial for a safe working atmosphere and human health.

Detection of VOC compounds in the domain of toxicity is performed using special photo ionization detectors (PID) which, with the help of a wide base of compounds within the device itself, focus on a specific VOC. The standard for calibration of these sensors is usually Isobutylene gas, (CH3) 2C = CH2. Alarm and STEL / TWA limits are specific to each compound and determined empirically or through national / EU directives.

Detection of the VOC flammability domain (0-100% LEL) is usually performed by means of fast IR detectors that are factory calibrated to a specific hydrocarbon.