This is tough one! I've heard that some MSD sheets, such as 3M's, actually provide the conversion for you.Have you found anything?
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I spent way too much time earlier this year trying to figure this out for LEED-NC v2.2 project’s VOC budget and finally gave up. Now that USGBC has codified this requirement, I was hoping to get direction on it.
Here’s what I came up with but I am not sure it is definitive: I found a resource on the Internet on how to do this - http://www.terrachoice.com/images/ECP%20PDFs/Newcriteriaunderreview/CCD046TechnicalBriefingNotePublicReview.pdf (page 5).
"A major focus of the above-mentioned eco-labels and regulatory documents is reducing volatile organic compounds in adhesives, and there are currently two common methods to report volatile organic compounds: g/L or in %VOC weight. To convert g/L into %VOC weight, g/L must first be converted into kg/L and then divided by the density of a typical solvent which is approximately 0.86 kg/L. For example, 43 g/L of VOC is equal to 0.043 kg/L. If you divide 0.043 kg/L of VOC by 0.86 kg/L, you get 0.05 kg/L or 5%VOC weight. Alternatively, to convert %VOC weight into g/L you must first convert the %VOC weight into g/Kg. For example, 5%VOC weight is equal to 50g of VOC/1kg of product. To convert to 50g/L, you must multiply 0.50 kg of VOC by 0.86 kg/L (density of a typical solvent). Therefore, 5% VOC weight is equal to 0.043 kg/L or 43 g/L."
My questions at the time were what is a typical solvent and where do its density?
Aerosol Adhesives -
So we just received our review comments back and I am at a loss for the comments made by the reviewer about the listed aerosol adhesive. The product is a general purpose mist spray aerosol adhesive with a VOC content of 53.2% by weight. According to the Green Seal Standard for Commercial Adhesives GS-36 the limit for a general purpose mist spray adhesive is 65% by weight. It seems pretty straightforward that this would be a compliant product right?
Wrong. The LEED reviewer is asking us to convert the VOC content to grams per liter and claiming that if we do this we are no longer compliant with the standard. Okay. I did my research and I even spoke to a chemist at the product’s company about the conversion which is all well and good except there is nothing to compare the quantity against. The standard is clearly based on a percent weight not on a grams/liter value. It seems LEED is asking us to compare apples and oranges.
The template adds to the confusion by not listing units on its form and the footnote about converting to grams per liter only appears when you click on the VOC budget option.
Has anyone else struggled with this? Thanks.
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