Comparison of purge and trap GC/MS and spectrophotometry for monitoring petroleum hydrocarbon degradation in oilfield produced waters

Results of using a field spectrophotometer and its appropriate protocols as a surrogate method for an oilfield produced water treatment process is presented. Methylene chloride extractions of the produced water before and after treatment maintained a yellow color pigment that was directly proportional to the hydrocarbon concentration. From this, an absorption spectrum and standard curve were developed. A resultant linear plot of the standard curve indicated that there is an excellent correlation (r²=0.9847) between the varying concentrations and the associated absorbance values at a wavelength of 400 nm. Total n-alkane concentration comparisons between the laboratory GC/MS analysis and the spectrophotometry analysis generated data of similar accuracy and precision at concentrations ranging from 1 to 137 mg/l (alpha=0.05). Linear comparisons between GC/MS and spectrophotometric coefficients were near unity, with the constant being near zero, with a correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.99. Based on this study, spectrophotometry is a complimentary method to GC/MS for determining total n-alkane concentrations in oilfield produced water samples.     

HPLC and GC Methods for Determination of Lubricants and Their Evaluation in Analysis of Real Samples of Polyethylene

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) are introduced for analysis of polymer lubricants (stearamide, oleamide and erucamide). In the HPLC method, a reverse phase octadecylsilane (ODS) column along with acetonitrile/methanol (60:40) as a mobile phase were used. Detection of analytes was performed by a UV detector at 202 nm. The analysis time was less than 8 min. In the GC method, polar capillary column and flame ionization detector (FID) were used for separations and detection, respectively. The analysis time by GC was longer than HPLC and was about 30 min. Limits of detection, linear range and repeatability of both methods are similar, but determination of oleamide in real samples by HPLC method is difficult due to complexity of the initial part of HPLC chromatogram in polyethylene samples. That problem is not observed in the GC method. Detection limits in both methods for all analytes are lower than 0.003% which are much lower than the amount of lubricants in commercial polymers (0.05–0.2%).     

A fast procedure to immobilize polyethylene glycols in glass capillary columns

Polyethylene glycols can be immobilized in glass capillary columns by a new procedure involving covering the glass walls with a layer of graphitized carbon black and by flowing a mixture of the stationary phase and dicumyl peroxide. After curing and conditioning the column is ready for use. Excellent performance is reported for Carbowax 20 M and high molecular weight glycols. For other glycols the immobilized layer is less stable and can be washed out.     

油菜花粉气味成分研究

为了提高气相色谱/质谱的检出灵敏度,采用进样新方法对油菜花粉气味组分进行分离测定,对下列11种成分作了鉴定:二甲二硫;正辛烷;1,3-二甲苯,异硫氰酸丙烯酯;1,4-二甲苯;1,2-二甲苯;3,4-二甲基庚烷;二甲三硫;2-甲基-5-已烯腈;萘;对-甲氧基苯丙烯。     

Determination of butyl- and phenyltin compounds in biological material by gas chromatography-flame photometric detection after ethylation with sodium tetraethylborate

A reliable and rapid speciation method for the simultaneous determination of butyl- and phenyltin species in biological samples has been developed. Three extraction procedures are compared: enzymatic hydrolysis and solubilization by ethanoic and hydrochloric acids. Derivatization is performed by the one-step ethylation/extraction procedure using the sodium tetraethylborate reagent directly in the aqueous phase in the presence of an isooctane layer. Analysis is performed using capillary gas chromatography coupled to flame photometric detection. The detection limits are in the range of a few ng(Sn)/g. Analysis of the environmental samples and the certified reference material demonstrates the accuracy of the analytical method.     

The theoretical basis of column chromatography in multicomponent separations. Part 2: Peak capacity. Column systems with good selectivity

The selectivity of a column system, S, defined by equation 28, includes a variation coefficient (β) of plate number with capacity ratio which has a large influence on the peak capacity, as shown in Fig. 18. Some typical chromatograms are given. In order to predict S for a column system from Kovat's Index, equations 40 and 41 are given to calculate the constant of the carbon number rule for squalane at different temperatures or for different stationary phases. The specific retention value of heptane on squalane at different temperatures can be calculated from equation 42. The nonpolarity index, defined by equation 43, was used to calculate the retention value of heptane on various stationary phases. In liquid chromatography, the order of elution may be reversed by changing the composition of the eluent on the same chemically bonded silica (manufactured in China). The linear relations between the log retention values of different kinds of solutes or of a single solute on the silicas of different surface areas when using the same eluent are given.     

At-column injector for capillary GC — design and evaluation

The present paper describes constructional details and evaluations of an at-column injector for capillary GC. Injections were made via a sample loop on a 0.32 mm i.d. capillary column. Two rotary valves were employed to allow a wash of the sample loop and a backflush of the transfer line. Repeatability, calculated from absolute area counts for n-alkanes was between 0.3–1% RSD, for injected sample volumes between 5 and 100 μl. Promising results were also obtained with syringe-based injections on narrow bore (100 μ i.d.) columns. Repeatability on the basis of normalized area counts was in the order of 0.1–0.2% RSD, while solvent tailing was practically absent.     

Characterization of OV-1/FFAP-mixture coated glass capillary columns used for the separation of free fatty acids

As an alternative to acid pretreated UCON and FFAP capillaries for the analysis of wide-boiling free fatty acid mixtures, OV-1 : FFAP phase mixtures were used on high-temperature silylated inert glass capillary columns. The HETP-carrier gas velocity curves, peak asymmetry factors, coating efficiency, gas phase and stationary phase contributions to the mass transfer resistance were determined for various OV-1 : FFAP ratios. Mixed-phase capillaries showed optimum performance at a 2 : 1 OV-1 : FFAP ratio. The thermal and long-term stability of OV-1-stabilized FFAP columns surpassed those of the UCON and pure FFAP reference column used.     

Coupling of thermal desorption in modified closeable sampling columns with wide-bore capillary gas chromatography and mass spectrometric detection

In contrast to usability of Curie-point pyrolysis at 700°C directly attached to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for determination of organic wood preservatives in waste wood samples the investigation method reported here consists of thermal desorption at temperatures about 260°C in connection with GC-MS for peak identification or GC with flame ionization detection for quantitative analyses. So-called “modified closeable sampling columns” are used as batch-reactor in thermal desorption experiments. Desorbed vapours can be introduced on capillary columns without sample discrimination and without a disturbing lost of resolution. In this manner a lot of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determinated in waste wood samples, especially in railway sleepers.