Long-term diffusive samplers for the indoor air quality evaluation

Three kinds of diffusion samplers, conceived to perform long-term samplings in indoor sites are illustrated in this work. Two of them, in part deriving from the previous "Analyst for VOC" device, extend the field of application up to the semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC), PAHs and nicotine in particular. A third device, which employs a basic barium hydroxide solution as an absorbing medium, is proposed for the determination of carbon dioxide levels which indicate the air change quality in the indoor sites. Laboratory and field experiments, performed in order to assess the reliability of the proposed devices, are shown. A monthly monitoring campaign, performed at three private apartments in Rome and its outskirts highlights that the indoor pollution levels are a complex function of various concurrent and opposite factors, like external air pollution, internal sources, air change rate and sink effect of surfaces, which contribute to depletion phenomena through adsorption and/or decomposition processes.     

Detection of cocaine in the airborne particles of the Italian cities Rome and Taranto

Cocaine was first detected in the air of two Italian cities, Rome and Taranto, where it reached concentrations sometimes exceeding 100 pg/m(3), by HRGC-MS analysis of carbonaceous aerosol samples. By contrast, the drug was virtually absent in Algiers (Algeria). In Italy, atmospheric concentrations of cocaine were, on average, similar to those of other toxic pollutants like polychlorobiphenyls or nitrated polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and higher than those of polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorodibenzofurans. The cocaine concentrations seemed to correlate with regional consumption of the drug in Rome and Taranto. By contrast, it correlated neither with nicotine or caffeine, nor with benzo[a]pyrene, the sole organic compound associated with aerosols that is quoted according to Italian legislation.     

超临界流体萃取对大气飘尘中有机污染物的分析

采用超临界流体萃取与气相色谱／质谱联用技术对兰州市大气飘尘中有机污染物进行了测定。实验考察了对强致癌性化合物多环芳烃类萃取的最佳条件,在２６．０ＭＰａ,８０℃下,０．５ｍＬ甲醇做改性剂,用ＣＯ２作为超临界萃取介质,静态萃取１０ｍｉｎ后再以０．５ｍＬ／ｍｉｎ的流速动态萃取３０ｍｉｎ,对实际样品进行了定性定量分析,共检测出６９种有机污染物,该方法简便,快速,适合于飘尘中有机污染物的测定。     

Characterization and determination of organic compounds in the mutagenic XAD-2 extracts of drinking water.

Amberlite XAD-2 extracts, which exhibit mutagenicity in the Ames assays, of drinking water sampled each month during the period from April 1988 to March 1989 were studied in order to characterize and determine the organic pollutants. The major organic pollutants were phthalate ester plasticizers such as dibutyl and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Several polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and the organocholorine pesticide oxadiazon were also identified to be present at low concentrations. The XAD-extractable and chromatographable organic pollutants were found to be composed of PAHs with a mean concentration of 0.136 micrograms/l(ca. 10% of the total amount of organic compounds detected), phthalates with a mean value of 0.405 micrograms/l(ca. 30%) and other compounds with a mean value of 0.845 micrograms/l(ca. 60%). The concentrations and compositions of these organic pollutants were correlated with the effective rainfall content of the river and with the water temperature.     

Evaluation of Liquid–Liquid Extraction Methods for Determining the Levels of Lipids and Organochlorine Pollutants in Human Milk

Organic chlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls are organic pollutants that are stored in the adipose tissues of humans. The concentrations of those pollutants in human milk have previously been utilized as a biomarker for monitoring the body burden of lipophilic pollutants in humans. Liquid–liquid extraction methods have been applied to lipids, chlorinated pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls from breast milk. In this study, the effectiveness of four extraction methods, which have been widely used to isolate fats and organic pollutants from milk, were compared. The organic solvents included hexane, hexane/acetone (2:1, v/v), ethanol/ethyl ether/hexane (2:3:4, v/v), and methanol/chloroform (1:1, v/v). These results demonstrated that hexane yields the lowest extraction recoveries for lipids (approximately 21.3%) and analytes (approximately 50%). The other three organic solvents demonstrated better performance in extracting the target compounds, with the ethanol/ethyl ether/hexane system showing the optimum efficiency. The optimized system was employed to determine the analytes in human milk.     

高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定水中13种有机污染物

以地表水环境质量标准严格控制的特定项目为依据,建立了直接进样-高效液相色谱-串联质谱同时测定水中13种化学性质差异较大的有机污染物的分析方法,这13种有机污染物为乐果、敌敌畏、敌百虫、对硫磷、甲基对硫磷、马拉硫磷、内吸磷、丙烯酰胺、苯胺、联苯胺、甲萘威、微囊藻毒素-LR、阿特拉津。水样经0.22 μm尼龙66滤膜过滤后,采用Kromasil 100-5 C18柱(150 mm×2.1 mm, 5 μm)分离,以甲醇-0.01%甲酸水溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,流速0.5 mL/min,柱温40 ℃,电喷雾正离子模式(ESI⁺)电离,多反应监测模式(MRM)进行检测,外标法定量。13种化合物的浓度与其峰面积在一定浓度范围内均呈现良好的线性关系(r≥0.9995),方法检出限为0.02~0.1 μg/L。测定低、中、高浓度的加标样品,13种化合物的相对标准偏差为0.5%~5.0%(n=6),实际样品加标平均回收率为81.2%~112%。此方法灵敏度高、干扰小、分析速度快,可适用于地表水、地下水中这13种有机污染物的同时分析。     

Polycyclische aromatische Verbindungen in der Atmosph?re von Linz (?sterreich)

Summary In the course of ten measuring events during spring 1985 twenty air samples were collected in Linz, an Austrian city where there is chemical and heavy industry. The collection of the air samples was carried out simultaneously at two measuring sites on both sides of the industrial area. 20 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), 4 heterocyclic aromatic compounds and two aromatic ketones were determined. It was found that the concentrations of PAHs and heterocyclic aromatic compounds measured downwind of the industrial area were higher than the corresponding background values. On an average, the concentration of the tracer substance benzo[a]pyrene was twice as high (7.1 ng/ Nm³) as the urban background value (3.3 ng/Nm³).The data from Linz have been compared with analytical results from Vienna by using chemometric methods. A cluster analysis of the PAH profiles revealed a clear separation of the samples from Linz and Vienna. Substances have been determined which are characteristic of the PAH profiles in Linz.As the results of this study show, the emissions from industry lead to an additional burden of carcinogenic organic pollutants in the atmosphere of Linz.     

Interpretation of atmospheric pollution phenomena in relationship with the vertical atmospheric remixing by means of natural radioactivity measurements (radon) of particulate matter

In this paper the results of seasonal monitoring campaign for primary (benzene and carbon monoxide) and secondary (nitrogen dioxide and ozone) pollutants and for the natural radioactivity of the particulate matter in the urban area of Rome, are reported to investigate acute atmospheric pollution episodes. Comparing the daily concentration trends of primary and secondary pollutants with those of the natural radioactivity, considered as index of the vertical diffusion in the low boundary layer, it has been evidenced that the acute pollution episodes in Rome occur in the winter period for the high atmospheric stability (primary pollution) and in the summer period for the strong diurnal atmospheric remixing (secondary pollution).     

Determination of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediment Porewater by SPMD

The mobility and bioavailability of organic pollutants associated with sediment depend on the concentrations of these compounds in the porewater^[1]. To assessment and impact the effect of these kinds of organic pollutants on the benthic ecosystem, and the effect of these contaminates were released as a second pollution source, it is in important to know the accurate concentrations of these organic pollutants in sediment porewater^[2]. However, the available methods are not effective^[1]. In 1990,the Semi-permeable Membrane Devices (SPMD)^[3] have being used to passively sample bioavailable aqueous organic pollutants, such as PCBs,OCPs and other organic pollutants.     

The study of interaction between PFOA/PFOS and uracil by topology quality and spectroscopic analysis

It has been established that perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) can be considered as emerging persistent organic pollutants. In recent years, there was increasing distribution of PFOA/PFOS in environmental systems, and accumulation and toxic effects of PFOA/PFOS in human body. In this paper, quantum chemistry methods were employed to study the interaction between perfluorinated organic pollutants and base (uracil). The results showed that there were four stable binding modes between the two perfluorinated compounds with uracil, especially the second mode which caused the most detrimental physiological functional response. NBO analysis showed that reactive hydrogen in the two perfluorinated compounds had the greatest effect on the hydrogen bond. The nature of the hydrogen bond formed between the two perfluorinated compounds and base was investigated using the AIM theory. The changes of spectroscopic properties in complexes were analyzed by IR and NMR spectra.     

New insight into the synergy of nitrogen-related sites on biochar surface for sulfamethoxazole adsorption from water

In-depth exploration of the relationship among different adsorption sites is conducive to design of efficient adsorbents for target pollutants removal from water. In this study, the experiments, multivariate non-linear regression and density functional theory calculations are applied to explore the possible synergistic effects of three nitrogen (N)-containing sites on cow dung biochar surface for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) adsorption. Notably, a strong synergistic effect between pyridinic N and pyrrolic N sites was found for sulfamethoxazole adsorption. The adsorption energies of SMX on four pyrrolic N-coupled pyridinic N structures were −1.02, −0.41, −0.49 and −0.72 eV, much higher than the sum of adsorption energies (−0.31 eV) on pyrrolic N and pyridinic N. Besides, the alteration of Mulliken charge revealed that the simultaneous presence of pyridinic N and pyrrolic N improved the electron transfer remarkably from −0.459 e and 0.094 e to −0.649 e and 0.186 e, benefiting for SMX adsorption. This work firstly explored the possible synergies of adsorption sites on biochar surface for organic contaminants removal from water, which shed new lights on the adsorption mechanism and provided valuable information to design efficient adsorbents in the field of water treatment.     

Determination of Trace Amounts of Organic Pollutants in the Yellow River by Capillary Column Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

The trace organic pollutants in the Yellow River enriched by a solvent extraction method were pre-separated into four different fractions of fatty hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polar compounds and organic acids and were analyzed by the use of combined capillary column gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Using the combined techniques of relative retention value, mass spectra and mass chromatogram, more than 60 organic pollutants were identified, among which 16 fatty hydrocarbons and 6 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which were quantitatively analyzed. The concentration range of fatty hydrocarbon was 5–800 ng/l, and that of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon was 0-90ng/l.     

Atmospheric concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, nitric acid, formic and acetic acids in the south of Vietnam measured by the passive sampling method.

A passive sampling method was applied to measure the concentrations of air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, and nitric, formic and acetic acids, in the ambient air at four test sites in the southern region of Vietnam. The monthly averages and the average concentrations of air pollutants during the period from July 2001 to September 2002 are reported here. The concentrations of air pollutants varied widely, depending on the test sites and the sampling periods. The average concentrations of sulfur dioxide in the air during the period from July 2001 to September 2002 at the four test sites were 3.3-16.9 ppb, and those of nitrogen dioxide were 5.4-12.8 ppb. The concentrations of nitrogen monoxide and hydrogen chloride were very low at all of the test sites. The observed concentrations of all of the above-mentioned pollutants were lower than those of the Vietnamese standards of air pollutants.     

Photolysis of organic pollutants in wastewater with 206 nm UV irradiation

A new-type UV light source(206 nm) was explored for the degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater for the first time.The degradation performances of triphenyltin chloride(TPTCl),dimethyl phthalate(DMP),as well as rhodamine B(RhB) were investigated.The results indicated that removal efficiency of 50 mg/L RhB,60 mg/L DMP and 120 mg/L TPTCl can reach 88.6%, 92.5%and 89.4%for 60 min,50 min and 75 min,respectively.By comparison of removal efficiency,we found 206 nm is superior to 253.7 nm UV in wastewat...     

Preparation and performances of small bore columns packed with reversed-phase materials and their use for the evaluation of air pollutants

Summary The preparation of small bore columns (1 mm i.d.) packed with reversed-phase materials is described. High efficiency (H_min=2 dp), coupled with a small C term (0.005 sec) have been obtained so that high speed can be combined with sufficient resolution for the separation of complex organic mixtures. These columns have been used for the separation of air pollutants dispersed in different matrices (air, particulate matter and rain water). Practical applications include the determination of aldehydes in air and emission samples, PAHs, nitrated and oxygenated PAHs in dust sampled from the stack of an industrial emission or collected in a urban area and the analysis of organic components dissolved in rain water collected at a rural site. Specific detection of these pollutants has been achieved by connecting small bore columns to UV absorbance, voltammetric and fluorimetric detectors. Mass spectra of some specific components have been recorded using the off-line technique.This work has been performed as a part of a Research Doctorate thesis to be discussed at the University of Rome.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. A. Liberti on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Multi‐Channel Piezoelectric Quartz Crystal Sensor with Principal Component Analysis and Back‐Propagation Neural Network for Organic Pollutants from Petrochemical Plants

A multi‐channel piezoelectric quartz crystal gas sensor comprising arrays coated with various organic materials and a home‐made computer interface for data processing were prepared and employed to detect six kinds of common organic pollutants from petrochemical plants including benzene, styrene, chloroform, octane, hexene and hexyne. The principal component analysis (PCA) method was employed to select six kinds of appropriate coating materials for these organic pollutants from 22 adsorbents onto piezoelectric crystals. After performing a PCA assay, six representative coating materials, namely Polyisobutylene, Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (SE30), 4‐tert‐Butylcalix[6]arene, Cholesteryl chloroformate, C60‐Polyphenyl acetylene (C60‐PPA) and Ag(I)/cryptand‐2,2/Ethylene diamine/NH₃/Polyvinyl chloride were selected. Moreover, effects of coating load of adsorbents and concentration of pollutants were also investigated. Three kinds of recognition techniques including 2D PCA score map, radar plot and back‐propagation neural network (BPN) were employed for qualitative analysis of these organic pollutants, and a quantitative analysis method could be established by creating calibration curves for each organic pollutant. This homemade multi‐channel piezoelectric quartz crystal gas sensor showed a good detection limit of 0.068‐1.127 mg/L for these organic pollutants. The multi‐channel piezoelectric gas sensor exhibited good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 1.1‐9.6%. Furthermore, this multi‐channel piezoelectric crystal detection system with BPN recognition technique was also utilized to successfully distinguish and identify each component of the mixture of organic gas samples. Multivariate linear regression (MLR) analysis was employed to quantitatively compute the concentration of species in the organic mixtures.     

金属有机骨架材料在吸附分离大气污染物中的应用

大气污染问题是关系人民生命健康和经济社会和谐发展的重大问题.因此需要开发高效的吸附材料用于大气污染物的吸附和分离.金属有机骨架材料(MOFs)是一类新型的多孔材料,该材料具有结构多样、孔结构有序、大比表面积和高孔隙率等结构特点.MOFs通过调节有机配体的长度和官能团调节孔径和孔道尺寸,并进行功能化修饰在孔道中引入功能性...     

太湖水体中有机污染物的分析

利用超临界流体萃取与热脱附两种样品预自理方法的优势互补,与气相色谱分析相结合对太湖水体中不同沸点有机污染物进行了分析,发现太湖水中除了烃类污染物外还存在大量含氮有机污染物。其分布表明入湖河道中排放的工业污染物的流入是导致太湖水富营养化的一个重要因素。     

Selenium speciation in waters: role of dissolved polysaccharides on the mobilization process

The paper deals with the study of selenium speciation in a water system where antropic contribution could be relevant (Tiber river). The speciation at natural levels was determined before, inside, after the city of Rome by a previously defined method: the tetravalent state is prevalent in the anthropized zone while the highest oxidation state is predominant outside. The study of the storage effects (on a whole sample) and the distribution (fate) of the selenium contribution were also carried out. The study showed how in polluted waters the fraction of dissolved organic matter able to bind Se(IV) highly affects the mobility of selenium in the matrix. Polysaccharide species show this property, so they are be very probably responsible for the adsorption of selenium on particulate and stabilize this form against oxidation.