The removal efficiency of VOC was tested for five air cleaners selected in terms of type and cleaning performances. Toluene, representative VOCs, was selected and used as the test gas. In order to indicate toluene removal capacity, toluene removal efficiency in a chamber and a duct was investigated with different measurement devices such as gas detecting tubes and GC/MSD. Changes in toluene concentration in the chamber were measured with GC/MSD. The test results showed that the performances of the test models in the test chamber were superior to those in the duct, however, they did not differentiate the performances of test models. According to our test study, toluene removal capacity calculated from the changes in toluene concentration with time was a good indicator for VOCs removal performance.

The deodorization performances of ammonia, acetic acid and acetaldehyde were tested for each of all forty five air cleaners sold in the online shops and department stores. The removal performances of toluene and formaldehyde were also investigated and the results were compared to the deodorization performances for the air cleaners. Filter-type and complex type air cleaners which used activated carbon filters showed superior in odor removal performances to those of ionizer type and wet type air cleaners. Toluene and formaldehyde were readily removed for the most of filter-type and complex type air cleaners. Ionizer air cleaners had little removal ability for the toluene and formaldehyde.