Vol. 9 No.

3
September 2010 Journal of Chongqing University (English Edition) [ISSN 1671-8224]

Article ID: 1671-8224(2010)03-0124-09

To cite this article: LIU Zhi-jian, LI An-gui, WANG Zhi-chao, DENG Gao-feng. Computational fluid dynamics simulation of formaldehyde emission characteristics and its
experimental validation in environment chamber [J]. J Chongqing Univ: Eng Ed [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132.

Computational fluid dynamics simulation of formaldehyde

emission characteristics and its experimental validation in
environment chamber 

LIU Zhi-jian 1,†, LI An-gui 1, WANG Zhi-chao 2, DENG Gao-feng 2

1
School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710055, P. R .China
2
China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, P. R. China

Received 9 July 2010; received in revised form 8 October 2010

Abstract: We investigated the effect of supply air rate and temperature on formaldehyde emission characteristics in an
environment chamber. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) chamber model for simulating formaldehyde
emission in twelve different cases was developed for obtaining formaldehyde concentration by the area-weighted average method.
Laboratory experiments were conducted in an environment chamber to validate the simulation results of twelve different cases
and the formaldehyde concentration was measured by continuous sampling. The results show that there was good agreement
between the model prediction and the experimental values within 4.3 difference for each case. The CFD simulation results
varied in the range from 0.21 mg/m3 to 0.94 mg/m3, and the measuring results in the range from 0.17 mg/m3 to 0.87 mg/m3. The
variation trend of formaldehyde concentration with supply air rate and temperature variation for CFD simulation and experiment
measuring was consistent. With the existence of steady formaldehyde emission sources, formaldehyde concentration generally
increased with the increase of temperature, and it decreased with the increase of air supply rate. We also provided some
reasonable suggestions to reduce formaldehyde concentration and to improve indoor air quality for newly decorated rooms.
Keywords: formaldehyde concentration; environment chamber; computational fluid dynamics simulation; supply air rate;
temperature

CLC number:TU834 Document code: A

1 Introduction a occupancy in newly decorating rooms. Some studies

Acceptable indoor air quality (IAQ) is very
important to human health and comfort because most
people spend most of their time in indoor environment.
In recent years, the awareness of potential IAQ
problems has prompted active studies of IAQ. Indoor
pollutants, which cannot be perceived, do great harm to
occupants’ health. Large quantity of chemical
substances are emitted during the initial period of
†
Corresponding author, LIU Zhi-jian (刘志坚): lzj6035@163.com.

Funded by National Science Foundation (No.50778415 and
No.50878177).
have indicated that these emissions have resulted in
headaches, mucous membrane irritations, and dryness
of the throat, eyes and nose [1-3]. One of the most
common substances in the indoor environment,
formaldehyde, has been a matter of concern for over
decades. Formaldehyde mean values could be in the
range of 334 mg/m3 to 193 mg/m3 and of 86 mg/m3 to
58 mg/m3 in new and old buildings, respectively. This
results from the frequent use of this compound as a
component of many resins and as preservative [4].
Personal exposure to formaldehyde may cause
dizziness, vomiting, and headaches, and in severe cases
can lead to dermatitis and asthma [5-6], which can
stimulate the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and

124
 Z. J. Liu, et al.
Formaldehyde emission simulation

throat. Since the formaldehyde has so much harm to the hex mesh system was used in all the region of chamber.
occupants’ health [7], it is necessary to investigate the The interval size was taken as 0.1 unit. The boundary
objective characteristics of formaldehyde emission so as condition of upper surfaces of the two cubes was
to protect the occupants’ health by reducing the exposure defined as the mass flow inlet [10], and the
level. formaldehyde concentration was taken as 4.05 mg/m3,
Though various studies have been performed to which was equal to the concentration caused by 0.5
estimate the emission rate of formaldehyde using the formaldehyde concentration solution in the experiment.
environment chamber [8-9], the effect of supply air The controlling equations were as follows.
velocity and temperature on formaldehyde emission The formaldehyde mass conservation equation is
characteristics is still unknown thoroughly. In this
V d ci  [V (1  Fb )uco d t  S d t ]  [Vuci d t  Fqci d t ], (1)
paper, we developed a three-dimensional (3D) transient
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for where ci is the formaldehyde concentration of indoor
simulating formaldehyde emission at first, and
air, co is the formaldehyde concentration of outdoor air
presented the formaldehyde emission characteristics
Laboratory experiments in 12 different working and was taken as zero, V is the effective volume of
conditions were conducted in an environment chamber environment chamber, F is the removal efficiency of
to validate these results. The results indicate that there purification, Fb is the removal efficiency of abstersion
was a good agreement between the experimental results process, u is the indoor rate of ventilation, S is the
and the CFD model predictions. Some conclusions can formaldehyde emission rate, t is the time, and q is the
be used in reducing the formaldehyde concentration. volumetric airflow through the purification devices. F
was taken as 0, because there were no purification
2 CFD simulation devices in the environment chamber.
The continuity equation is
2.1 CFD model
Vi
0, (2)
The environmental inner chamber of 9 m in length, X
8 m in width, and 5 m in height had a variable air
volume (VAV) air-conditioning and mechanical where Vi is the unit volume, and X is the unit distance.
ventilation (ACMV) system, which can control the air The momentum equation is
temperature, relative humidity (RH), and supply air
Vi  ( ViV j ) P  V V j
velocity. The chamber had one velocity inlet and one    [ eff ( i  )] , (3)
outlet on its outer surface of chamber. Two cubes t X j X i X j X j X i
(1.3 m×1.3 m×0.4 m) were set inside the chamber, of
where eff is the viscosity coefficient, and
which the upper surfaces were defined as formaldehyde
emission sources (Fig. 1). eff     t .  is the mass density, V j is the unit
volume of j-direction, X j is the unit distance of j-
direction, X i is the unit distance of i-direction, and P
is the pressure.
 K  ( V j K )   V
  [(   t ) i ] 
t X j X j  k X j
Vi Vi V j
t (  )   , (4)
X j X j X i

where K is the dissipation capacity per unit weight,

Fig. 1 Schematic of CFD model
Models used in the study were the standard k-
turbulence model and species model, and the
simulation was carried out by Fluent 6.3.26. A uniform
 k is the energy dissipation coefficient, and i is the
turbulent viscosity.
The equation of viscosity energy dissipation (
equation) is

J. Chongqing Univ. Eng. Ed. [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132 125
Z. J. Liu, et al.
Formaldehyde emission simulation

  ( V j K )   V can be summarized as follows: Internal material

  [(   t ) i ]  pollutant emission was drove by the grades of pressure,
t X j X j  k X j
temperature and concentration, which could be
 Vi Vi V j  2 described by the Fick’s second diffusion law [11-12].
c1 (  )  c2 , (5)
K X j X j X i K The exterior pollutant emission was induced by
evaporation, convection and diffusion. The physical
where c1 and c2 are constant coefficients that are 1.44 model is distinguished from the pollutants internal and
and 1.92, respectively. exterior emission factors. The common pollutants
The energy equation is emission models are list in Table 1 and newly
renovating material pollutants emission model was
T  ( V j T )  k  T chosen as the pollutant emission physical model.
  [(  t ) ], (6)
t X j X j c p  T X j
2.3 CFD simulation process and results
where T is the temperature, k is the coefficient of heat
conduction, c p is the specific heat capacity, and  T is Twelve different simulation cases (Table 2 shows
the energy dissipation coefficient. specific parameters for each case) were simulated.
Representative iso-surface (x  0) was extracted to
2.2 Determination of pollutant emission physical display the formaldehyde concentration. The contours
model of formaldehyde concentration on iso-surface (x  0)
for twelve different cases are shown in Fig. 2. The
Pollutant emission physical model was based on the area-weighted average formaldehyde concentration can
mass transfer theory. The process of pollutant emission be calculated in each case by Fluent software, and the
results are listed in Table 3.

Table 1 Common pollutants emission models

Model name Expression Fields of using
 M 
Vasquez-Beggs model R  hD  CV  C  Evaporation
 M0 

C  2C
D 2
 x j
Newly renovating material pollutants ; Mass transfer, evaporation and
emission model       diffusion
      u j        S
 x j x j  x j 

C  2C
The dry material emission model D 2 Mass transfer and diffusion
 x

C  2C
D 2
 x ;
John little model Mass transfer and diffusion
C C
V  D xL  QC
 x
Notes: R : emission rate; M 0 : original quantity of emission source;  : time; hD : convective mass transfer coefficient; C : initial vapor
V
pressure; M : residual quantity of emission source; D : diffusion coefficient; C : mass concentration of inner material;  : air density; x j : linear

dimension of diffusion direction;  : model variable; u j : velocity;   : diffusion coefficient; S : source; V : room volume; and Q : ventilation
air rate

126 J. Chongqing Univ. Eng. Ed. [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132
 Z. J. Liu, et al.
Formaldehyde emission simulation

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3

Case 4 Case 5 Case 6

Case 7 Case 8 Case 9

Case 10 Case 11 Case 12

Fig. 2 Contours of formaldehyde concentration for iso-surface (x  0) in Cases 1 to 12

J. Chongqing Univ. Eng. Ed. [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132 127
Z. J. Liu, et al.
Formaldehyde emission simulation

Table 3 indicated that formaldehyde concentration in controlling room to keep the environment parameters
Case 12 was the highest compared with the others. stable. The chamber was made of stainless steel so that
From Case 1 to Case 6, it was clear that the adsorption by the surface can be ignored, and there was
formaldehyde concentration got down when the supply a steady formaldehyde emission source in the chamber.
air rate increased. From Case 7 to Case 12, the Tightness should be checked before conducting
formaldehyde concentration increased with the increase experiments. Figs. 4 to 6 are pictures of chamber’s
of supply air temperature. The results were consistent outline, dynamic sampling instruments, and inner
with that in Refs [13] to [15]. formaldehyde concentration sampling devices. The
formaldehyde concentration of indoor air came form
Table 2 Specific parameters for Cases 1 to 12 the 0.5 formaldehyde solution, so the emission of
Supply air Supply air Relative formaldehyde could be regarded as a constant emission
Case
temperature/C rate/(m/s) humidity/ process.
1 22 0.2 60
2 22 0.3 60
3 22 0.4 60
4 22 0.5 60
5 22 0.6 60
6 22 0.7 60
7 16 0.3 60
8 20 0.3 60
9 24 0.3 60
10 28 0.3 60
11 32 0.3 60
12 36 0.3 60

Table 3 CFD simulation results for Cases 1 to 12 HEPA filter: high efficiency particulate air filter
3
Case Average formaldehyde concentration/(mg/m ) Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of environment chamber
1 0.68
2 0.55
3 0.42
4 0.23
5 0.29
6 0.21
7 0.45
8 0.47
9 0.61
10 0.71
11 0.67
12 0.94

3 Laboratory validation

3.1 Experiment
Fig. 4 Environment chamber outline
The test facility included environment chamber and
measuring system. The tests were conducted in China
Academy of Building Research, Beijing. Fig. 3 shows a 3.2 Air duct system of environment chamber
schematic drawing of the environment chamber with
the ventilation system for the validation experiment. The duct design conforms to ASHRAE Standard
The chamber was surrounded by another environment- 52.2-2007 [16]. The duct was a closed-loop wind

128 J. Chongqing Univ. Eng. Ed. [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132

tunnel through which air can be continuously circulated.
The test ducts were constructed of galvanized iron
sheet with the cross 1.5 m×1.5 m. The whole air ducts
were constituted with two straight pipes and an elbow
of 0.5 m radius. The air duct system was composed of
the high efficiency particulate air filter, humidifier,
orifice meter, fan, cooler and so on. Fig. 3 clearly
display the air duct system.
Fig. 5 Outer dynamic sampling devices
Fig. 6 Inner formaldehyde concentration sampling devices
3.3 Measuring method for formaldehyde
Continuous sampling method was used to obtain the
formaldehyde concentration. The representative iso-
surface (x  0) of environment chamber was divided
into 15 small pieces. The sampling point was located at
the intersection of diagonal of each small rectangle.
Complying with the regulations as prescribed by
GB50325-2001 [17], each location must be sampled for
J. Chongqing Univ. Eng. Ed. [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132
Z. J. Liu, et al.
Formaldehyde emission simulation
4 times. The sampling locations are as shown in Fig. 7.
The measuring instrument was portable automatic
absorption of formaldehyde gas detector (XP-308Ⅱ)
with a measuring range of 0.00 mg/m3 to 3.00 mg/m3
and a minimum resolution of 0.01 mg/m3, which
complied with ISO 16000-9, 2006 [18].
3.4 Experiment process and results
Twelve different experiment cases were conducted.
Similarly, the representative iso-surface (x  0) was
chose to determine the formaldehyde concentration.
Table 4 lists the measuring results. Each case was
sampled for 60 times on iso-surface (x  0). Each point
was sampled for 4 times though Acceptable Indoor Air
Quality guideline required three times samplings [19].
The average formaldehyde concentration was obtained
by using area-weighted average calculations.
Fig. 7 Location of sampling points
Table 4 Laboratory experiment results for Cases 1-12
Case Average formaldehyde concentration/(mg/m3)
1 0.72
2 0.53
3 0.41
4 0.32
5 0.26
6 0.17
7 0.44
8 0.46
9 0.62
10 0.74
11 0.77
12 0.87
From Case 1 to Case 6, the supply air temperature
and RH were respectively kept at 22 C and 60%.
When the supply air rate varied from 0.2 m/s to 0.7 m/s,
the formaldehyde concentration showed a decreasing
trend (Fig. 8). Good ventilation was favorable to the
formaldehyde diffusion, which was consistent with the
experiment result of Ref. [20].
From Case 7 to Case 12, the supply air rate and RH
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Formaldehyde emission simulation
were respectively kept at 0.3 m/s and 60%. When the
supply air temperature varied from 16 C to 36 C, the
formaldehyde concentration showed an increasing
trend (Fig. 9). Liu et al. [21], Gustafson et al. [22], and
Meckler [23] demonstrated that the supply air
temperature had effect on formaldehyde emission, but
they did not mention the formaldehyde concentration
variation regulation with the supply air temperature.
High temperature was conducive to solution
evaporation and could enhance pollutant molecular
motion.
Fig. 8 Formaldehyde concentration variation trend as supply
air rate increasing in environment test chamber
Fig. 9 Formaldehyde concentration variation trend as supply
air temperature increasing in environment test chamber
4 Comparison between CFD simulation and
experimental results
In the experimental investigation, the formaldehyde
concentration in each case was measured by portable
130 J. Chongqing Univ. Eng. Ed. [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132
automatic absorption of formaldehyde gas detector
(XP-308Ⅱ). The measuring errors of the detector for
formaldehyde concentration are 0.01 mg. Fig. 10
shows that CFD simulation results of formaldehyde
concentration were in accord with the experimental
results obtained in environment chamber experiment.
High temperature was conducive to the release of
formaldehyde and good ventilation could dilute the
formaldehyde concentration. Therefore, it provided
potential methods to reduce formaldehyde
concentration of newly renovating buildings quickly.
From Fig. 10, it can also be observed that there is a
good agreement between the model prediction and the
experimental values within difference of 4.3. The
CFD simulation results varied in the range of
0.21 mg/m3 to 0.94 mg/m3, and the measuring results in
the range of 0.17 mg/m3 to 0.87 mg/m3. The variation
trend of formaldehyde concentration in CFD
simulation and measuring was consistent as supply air
rate and temperature varied.
Fig. 10 Comparison between measuring and CFD simulation
results for 12 cases
5 Conclusions
A 3D CFD model was developed to simulate the
formaldehyde emission characteristics in an
environment chamber. The CFD model gave good
agreement with the experimental results for simulating
formaldehyde emission characteristics. Based on the
analysis of simulation and experiment results, we
presented the following conclusions:
1) The simulation and experiment results revealed
the effect of supply air rate and temperature on the
formaldehyde emission characteristics. Formaldehyde
concentration presented a decreasing trend when the

supply air rate increased, and it presented a increasing
trend when the supply air temperature increased. When
the supply air rate increased, violent air turbulence was
contributed to formaldehyde diffusion. High
temperature was conducive to solution evaporation and
could enhance formaldehyde molecular motion.
2) Maintaining a higher temperature and higher wind
speed was favorable to the rapid release of
formaldehyde for indoor air. Good ventilation should
be employed to avoid high pollutant concentration.
Before moving into a new renovating house, high
temperature should be kept for some time so that
pollutants can quickly emit. Decorating materials
containing high level formaldehyde should not be used
to reduce pollutant sources.
3) The constant emission rate of formaldehyde was
used in the experiment, which may not be justified in
terms of actual emission conditions in decorated
buildings. Therefore, research should focus on the no-
constant emission rate of formaldehyde characteristics
in the future.
Nomenclature
ci: formaldehyde concentration of indoor air, mg/m3
c0: formaldehyde concentration of outdoor air,mg/m3
V: effective volume of environment chamber
F: effective volume of environment chamber
u: indoor rate of ventilation, times/h
S: formaldehyde emission rate,mg/m3
q: volumetric airflow through the purification
devices, m3/h
K: dissipation capacity per unit weight
Fb: removal efficiency of abstersion process
t : time
Vi : unit volume
X : unit distance
 : mass density
X i : unit distance of i-direction
X j : unit distance of j-direction
P : pressure
c1 : constant coefficient(1.44)
c2 : constant coefficient(1.92)
T : temperature
k : coefficient of heat conduction
c p : specific heat capacity
Greek symbols:
: turbulence dissipation rate
: kinematics viscosity of air, m2/s
J. Chongqing Univ. Eng. Ed. [ISSN 1671-8224], 2010, 9(3): 124-132
Z. J. Liu, et al.
Formaldehyde emission simulation
t: turbulent viscosity, m2/s
: steady flow viscosity,m2/s
eff: viscosity coefficient, eff     t , m2/s
 k : tubulence energy Prandtl number
 T : energy dissipation coefficient
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Edited by XUE Jing-yuan