Most of the research on indoor air pollutants in the United Arab Emirates focus on the state before moving in. There are no studies on the evaluation and characteristics of Indoor Air Quality in living conditions. This study aims to obtain primary data by measuring the concentration of indoor hazardous chemical substances in apartment housings with different area characteristics and to identify the external and internal pollutants that affect them. As a methodology, a comparative analysis was conducted between residential (Business Bay) and industrial areas (Ras Al Khor) to investigate the indoor air pollutants level with the comparison of the outdoor environment, elapsed time after construction, finished materials, temperature, relative humidity, renovation, purchase of furniture and electric appliances, built-in closets, and air cleaning methods. The result showed that Benzene (C6H6), Toluene (C7H8), Ethylbenzene (C8H10), Xylene (C8H10), and Styrene (C8H8) were at a stable level. However, in the case of formaldehyde (HCHO), points exceeding or close to the WHO IAQ standard were found, suggesting that long-term attention is required. The differences between residential and industrial areas were marginal in terms of the size of the house, temperature and humidity, and the building materials. It was proven that the emission of indoor air pollutants from building materials lessened under 18 months after construction.

Much previous research in different countries describes a strong dependence on temperature and humidity for indoor air pollutants generated from building materials. Since many types of building materials are complexly applied in residential buildings in UAE and are constantly using air-conditioning, the result might be different from the characteristics of indoor air pollutants from a small chamber experiment. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the concentration of indoor air pollutants according to changes in temperature and humidity in newly built apartments before moving in. As a methodology, a field measurement was performed in 23 housing units in five different residential towers in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. Before the measurement, a 7-day bake-out was completed, and the target units were measured 30 days before moving in. The result showed that formaldehyde (HCHO) and VOCs such as benzene (C6H6), toluene (C7H8), ethylbenzene (C8H10), xylene (C8H10), and styrene (C8H8) have consistent humidity dependence within the range of 15 %–60% of relative humidity (RH). It was impossible to confirm the temperature dependency since it showed different characteristics for each apartment between 22°C and 33°C. There is a limit to predicting the occurrence of indoor air pollutants in the apartment only with microclimatic factors since there are many other variables, such as various building materials, management history of materials, and construction methods. However, it was proven that there is an emission cut-off point where the generation of indoor air pollutants deviates from a linear relationship in the RH 40%–50% and 25°C. These temperature and humidity ranges are synchronized with daily life ranges.

Dubai Municipality is making significant efforts to reduce the concentration of chemical substances in major buildings via Green Building Regulations & Specifications. However, it has limitations to the problem because it simply regulates the indoor air concentration of some harmful substances from building materials. The functional building materials capable of adsorbing and decomposing indoor pollutants such as Formaldehyde (HCHO) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are gradually spreading. This paper aims to evaluate the performance of functional building materials and analyze the effect of improving the indoor air environment. As a methodology, the investigation was done to research trends and standards for functional building standards. 20 L small chamber experiment was performed for wallpaper with 0%, 5%, 7%, 10%, and 15% of the ethylene urea (C5H10N2O3), HCHO remover. The result showed standard wallpaper’s adsorption rate on the seventh day was 6.21%. The formaldehyde remover adsorption rate for 7 days was 50.43% when formaldehyde remover was added at a 5 wt% (weight percentage); 60.21% when it was added at 7 wt%; 63.45% when it was added at 10 wt%; and 73.58% when it was added at 15 wt%. The adsorption rate on the seventh day with 7 wt%, 10 wt%, and 15 wt% HCHO remover showed a 60% or more (IS O 16000-24 standard). However, wallpaper with 15 wt%, displayed the highest value, was 5.736 μg/m2, which did not satisfy the IS O 16000-24 standard (6.000 μg/m2). It was statistically proven when the amount of the HCHO remover is increased; the adsorption performance is improved in proportion to the amount added. This study will serve as primary data to prepare UAE standards for the functional building materials with adsorption and decomposition performance of harmful chemicals, moisture absorption and moisture-proof performance, and antibacterial/anti-fungal performance.