Surface chemistry of a pine-oil cleaner and other terpene mixtures with ozone on vinyl flooring tiles

Indoor environments are dynamic reactors where consumer products (such as cleaning agents, deodorants, and air fresheners) emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can subsequently interact with indoor oxidants such as ozone (O3), hydroxyl radicals, and nitrate radicals. Typically, consumer products consist of mixtures of VOCs and semi-VOCs which can react in the gas-phase or on surfaces with these oxidants to generate a variety of oxygenated products. In this study, the reaction of a pine-oil cleaner (POC) with O3 (100 ppb) on a urethane-coated vinyl flooring tile was investigated at 5% and 50% relative humidity. These results were compared to previous α-terpineol + O3 reactions on glass and vinyl surfaces. Additionally, other terpene and terpene alcohol mixtures were formulated to understand the emission profiles as seen in the POC data. Results showed that the α-terpineol + O3 reaction products were the prominent species that were also observed in the POC/O3 surface experiments. Furthermore, α-terpineol + O3 reactions generate the largest fraction of oxygenated products even in equal mixtures of other terpene alcohols. This finding suggests that the judicial choice of terpene alcohols for inclusion in product formulations may be useful in reducing oxidation product emissions.

Research highlights
► Consumer cleaning products are made up of mixtures of chemicals.
► Indoor research has focused mainly on the individual chemical reactions with ozone.
► Limited research exists on the reactions of chemical mixtures with ozone on surfaces.
► We investigate mixture + O3 reactions on a surface and compare to singe components.
► Data indicates how consumer products may be reformulated to reduce emissions.