Total Volatile Organic Compounds: Overview
Description
"Total volatile organic compounds" as the group of compounds are not generally used. TVOC is a grouping of a wide range of organic chemical compounds to simplify reporting when these are present in ambient air or emissions. Many substances, such as natural gas, could be classified as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are reserved for characterisation of such substances in polluted air, that is, VOCs generally refer to vapours of gases given off by compounds rather than the liquid phase.
Substance details
Substance name: TVOCs
Synonyms: volatile organic compounds (VOC), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC).
Physical properties
For the purpose of NPI reporting, Total VOC are defined as any chemical compound based on carbon chains or rings with a vapour pressure greater than 0.01 kPa at 293.15 K (i.e. 20°C), that participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions.
Specifically excluded are:
- carbon monoxide;
- methane;
- acrylamide;
- benzene hexachloro;
- biphenyl;
- chlorophenols;
- n-dibutyl phthalate;
- ethylene glycol;
- di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP);
- 4,4-methylene bis 2,4 aniline (MOCA);
- Methylenebis;
- Phenol; and
- toluene-2,4-diisocyanate.
Chemical properties
The chemical properties of TVOCs vary widely.
Further information
The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) holds data for all sources of Total volatile organic compounds in Australia.
Key
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