Innovative multifunctional finish for the improvement of Indoor Air Quality: Performance at laboratory and pilot scale

• An innovative indoor finish was compared with a commercial one at lab and pilot scales • The innovative finish was more effective to buffer humidity variations at lab and pilot scales • The innovative finish had more depolluting abilities at lab and pilot scales • The innovative finish is more effective in improving IAQ at lab and pilot scales In this study, the impact of an innovative multifunctional finish on the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in terms of temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was compared to that of a commercial finish for the same application as reference. The two finishes were applied on the same commercial substrate and tested both at laboratory and pilot scale. At laboratory scale, the water vapour permeability, the moisture buffering capacity and the depolluting activity by adsorption of the innovative finish was 15%, 100% and more than 200% higher than those of the commercial one on the same substrate, respectively. At pilot scale, the innovative finish was more effective than the commercial finish in buffering humidity variations (RH increases 53% slower compared to the commercial solution), temperature variations (-1.5°C), and decreasing VOCs concentration (from 14% up to 63%, depending to the test conditions). Therefore, the innovative multifunctional indoor finish has proven to be more effective than the commercial one in improving IAQ not only in laboratory but also at pilot scale.