Jennifer Holtz, BASF Corporation
Foam Expo 2020
Harmonization of Global VOC Specifications: A Roadmap for Evaluating PU Foam Emissions
Molded Polyurethane Foam Industry Panel
Road toBest Practices
August 24 - 28, 2020
OEM Participants
FCA
Ford Motor Company
General Motors Corporation
Industry Participants
BASF
Covestro
Dow
Huntsman
Adient
Faurecia Automotive
Lear Corporation
Magna
Unique Fabricating
Woodbridge
Evonik
Mission Statement
The Industry Panel mission is to create automotive
seating foam specifications that are practical and
functionally driven to achieve basic commonality within
the automotive industry and establish best practices.
Molded Polyurethane Foam Industry Panel
Knowledge Source for OEMS
Recommend Material Specification Updates
Improve Test Methodologies
Industry Panel’s Emissions Workgroup
Objectives:• Work to broadly communicate the current status of the industry
• Promote advancement toward harmonization of VOC specifications, test methods, and
requirements that are both practical and realistic
• Provide recommendations by defining best practices for measuring VOC emissions from
automotive polyurethane foam
Current Focus:
Develop a “Roadmap” guide to the industry for testing of PU foam emissions
Provides detailed best practice protocols for all of the steps involved:
Demold - Sample Prep – Packaging – Shipping - Analytical Testing – Result Expression
Global VOC Specifications for Automotive Seating
There are currently over 150 OEM, ASTM, SAE, ISO, VDA, etc. standards for testing molded foam used in automotive seating to evaluate vehicle interior air quality (VIAQ)
Numerous specifications & test methods are obstacles to market success.
Costly to test foams to meet multiple requirements
Limits speed to market from raw materials to end products
Method ambiguity and subjectivity creates increased variability in the test results.
Industry Panel Goals:
Improve Test Methodology
Eliminate Subjectivity
Improved Repeatability / Reliability
Eliminate Non-Value Added Tests
Utilize Industry Standards
Common Global OEM Test MethodologyReinhard Oppl, Eurofins (2008)
ISO 12219Part 1
ISO 12219Parts 2 & 9
ISO 12219Part 3
ISO 12219Part 4
ISO 12219Part 5
ISO 12219Part 6
VDA Method 278
VDAMethod 275
Whole Vehicle
Bag Micro-scale
ChamberSmall
ChamberStatic
chamber Small
ChamberDesorption
TubeBottle Method
~ 1.5 m³ 10-2000 L 44-114 cm³ 0.5-4 m³ 10-500 L 0.5-4 m³¼ inch tube; inner 4 mm
1L container,50 mL water
23°C 65 ± 1 °C 65 ± 2 °C 65 ± 2 °C 65 ± 2 °C 100 ± 2 °C 90 and 120 °C 60 ± 2 °C
4-8 h 2 h ± 5 min 20 min 4 h ± 5 min 4 h 3 h ± 5 min 30 and 60 min More than 3 h
Quasi-static Static Dynamic Dynamic Static DynamicDirect
DesorptionStatic
VOC, Aldehydes
VOC, Aldehydes
VOC, SVOC, Aldehydes
VOC, Aldehydes
VOC, Aldehydes
SVOC VOC, FOG Formaldehyde
Standardized Methods to Measure VOCs- “Snapshot”
Part 7: Odour determination in interior air of road vehicles and test chamber air of trim components by olfactory measurements
Part 8: Handling and packaging of materials and components for emissions testing
Industry Panel Survey- VOC Testing Methods
The Industry Panel created a web-based survey to determine which methods are in use across the industry for
testing molded PU foam emissions and why.
The survey was distributed via email, paper copies were handed out at conferences, and a link was posted on our
website (www.moldedfoam-ip.org)
Parameters to Review Methods
Molded Foam Industry Panel in collaboration with stakeholders currently
working on developing criteria for reviewing emission standards
Select which parameters are most important for ensuring reproducibility
of test results?
Impact of Test Parameters on Reproducibility
Identify the impact of the selected test parameters on
reproducibility and quality of data
Some potential examples:
Conditioning time, packaging, emission collection, analytics
Approach to Developing the VOC Roadmap
Leverage Industry Panel’s Roadmap Proposal, SAE J2989 and ISO standards, best practices, etc. to create four documents:
1. Foam processing- sample production, handling, conditioning, packaging, storage, shipment and specimen preparation (harvesting)
2. Analytical – collection of emissions and analytical procedure(s)
3. Data analysis and expression of results
4. Description/Flowchart of combined documents – Unification document to create a comprehensive roadmap
• Get feedback from industry and standards organizations (e.g. SAE, ISO) to reach consensus towards the goal of global harmonization.
SAE Collaborative Work in Progress
SAE Document Number: J3233
Title:
Harmonization of Test Methods to Measure VOCs from Polyurethane Foam used In
Automotive Interior Cabins
Scope:
The standard will describe a harmonized approach to measuring VOCs from polyurethane
foam used in automotive seating. The standard will address the interests and requirements
of OEMs and other stakeholders. It will leverage existing consensus standards with
existing automotive OEM test methods to address the following: (1) Foam processing and
handling, sample production, conditioning, packaging, storage, shipment, and specimen
preparation, (2) Test methods to measure VOC Emissions, e.g. chambers, air sampling
and analytical methods, (3) Data analysis and expression of results, (4) Description and
flowchart of combined documents – Unification document, to form a comprehensive VOC
roadmap.
Please contact the Industry Panel with Recommendations and Ideas
https://www.moldedfoam-ip.com/or
Collaboration is our approach to success
Acknowledgements
Molded Polyurethane Foam Industry Panel
Industry Panel Emissions Team –
John Sebroski (Covestro) & Kelly Kiszka (Dow)
Industry and OEM Participants
Hamdy Khalil, Woodbridge, for his support with this project
Mark Polster, Ford Motor Company, for his efforts with the survey and his continuing support of this work
