Investigation of Shortcomings/Limitations of Industrial Standard 278 of the Verband der Automobilindustrie for Measuring Volatile Organic Compounds

The Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) 278 is an industry method widely used to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It is most commonly used in the automobile industry to measure and regulate VOC and FOG levels in automotive parts as a safety regulation. The current VDA 278 method has issues from poor accuracy, precision, and reproducibility. There is variability in data due to differences in sample type and handling as well as instrument model. There is little understanding on the reproducibility of measurements of different sample types analyzed on different makes of instruments using VDA 278 analysis. In this work, a round-robin study is performed on diverse sample types, using different makes of instruments in laboratories across the world. It uses improved method conditions developed internally, for better reproducibility, that reduce sources of error. The round-robin study shows good statistical agreement across variable sample types as well as across different makes of instruments. The study also helps qualify new instruments to perform this VDA 278 method to increase capacity for this high-demand analysis.