Monitoring industrial wastewater by online GC-MS with direct aqueous injection

An online GC–MS-system for automated monitoring of crude wastewater at a complex chemical production site is presented. The modular system is, in principal, based on commercial equipment, but utilizes a special, two-stage injector, which consists of a splitless vaporization chamber on top of a PTV injector filled with Tenax. This set-up enables direct injection of wastewater. Almost 140 volatile and semi-volatile compounds are calibrated down to 1 mg L⁻¹, which is sufficient for analysis of the influent of the wastewater-treatment plant. Two instruments analyze alternately, every 20 min, and the instrument cycle time is 40 min. The quantitative results are transferred to a database which is connected to a process-control system. Depending on the nature and concentration of a compound, an alarm can be generated and the wastewater stream can be diverted into an “off spec tank” if necessary. The GC–MS-system operates quasi-continuously with a system availability >98%. Data quality is automatically controlled in each run and by daily analysis of a quality-control sample. The development of a novel stacked PTV–PTV injector design to expand the range of analytes to selected basic compounds is described.     

Simultaneous analysis of atmospheric halocarbons and non-methane hydrocarbons using two-dimensional gas chromatography

A gas chromatographic system was constructed to simultaneously measure ambient non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and halocarbons, which play significant roles in tropospheric ozone formation and stratospheric ozone loss, respectively. A heart-cut device based on a Deans switch was connected to two capillary columns to cover the full range of NMHCs and halocarbons. Analytes more volatile than C₆ NMHCs and the halocarbon CFC-113 were separated with a PLOT column, while the remaining less volatile compounds were separated with a DB-1 column. Merge-and-split of the flows at the end of the two columns allowed the NMHCs and halocarbons to be observed simultaneously by electron capture detection (ECD) and flame ionization detection (FID). To avoid peak-overlap from the two columns while merging, programmed pressures were incorporated to control the Deans switch. In addition to the advantage of measuring two important classes of compounds in the atmosphere at the same time, this method has the additional benefit of using the homogeneity of atmospheric CFC-113 as an “intrinsic” internal reference. Thus, better data continuity, less consumption of gas standards, and real-time quality control can all be achieved.     

Programmed Temperature Vaporization Injection (PTV) in the Analysis by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) of the Constituents of Landfill Gas

Abstract

Trace volatile compounds emitted from both domestic and industrial landfills have been identified by programmed temperature vaporization injection (PTV) coupled to gas chromatography with detection by ion-trap mass spectrometry (GC-ITD/MS). The PTV injection system has been developed using a combination of two six-port valves to achieve problems of interference in GC-MS while loading sample. A large volume of landfill gas was re-concentrated onto a sorbent trap, then rapidly liberated into the GC-ITD/MS system by programmed thermal desorption. Using this method, trace volatile compounds in gases from both domestic and industrial landfills such as aromatic hydrocarbons, terpenes, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and sulfur compounds can be identified and quantified.     

Programmable Temperature Vaporizer (PTV) Applied to the Triglyceride Analysis of Milk Fat

The PTV (Programmable Temperature Vaporizer) is a split/splitless injector which allows the sample to be introduced at a relatively low temperature, thus affording accurate and reproducible sampling. After injection the PTV is rapidly heated to transfer the vaporized components into the capillary column. This type of injector has proved to be an efficient tool for the evaluation of fatty acids, essential oils, and pesticides in food analysis. In this work the suitability of PTV for the analysis of milk fat purity by the Official EU method was evaluated. This method is based on the gas chromatographic determination of triglycerides only according to their total number of carbon atoms followed by the application of formulae deriving from multiple linear regressions. The analysis is currently carried out with a packed column or a short capillary column and an on-column injection system. Several samples of pure milk fat and mixtures of milk fat with foreign fat were analyzed with the same capillary column and by using both PTV and on-column injection systems. The results show that the gas chromatographic profile obtained by PTV is comparable with that obtained by the on-column injector, while repeatability and reproducibility data meet the requirements indicated in the Official Method. Therefore, this study demonstrates that it is possible to use the PTV instead of the on-column injector to determine the purity of milk fat with this method.     

Performance and characteristics of a trace gas analyzer for the determination of volatile organic compounds in air

An instrument has been developed and tested for the continuous measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in air. The system consists of a gas chromatograph equipped with a dedicated sampling device that allows the sample to be transferred to a cooled microtrap via sampling loops (10, 100, 250 ml) or via a direct pump transfer to the trap. The microtrap is placed in the chromatographic oven just below a modified split-splitless injector, allowing direct liquid injection for calibration of the system; the injector is in communication with the sampling valve equipped with the loop and the sampling pump. The system allows 24-hour sampling and analysis of a large number of VOC (up to 25 individual hydrocarbons ranging from C2 C9) and also polar volatile organic compounds PVOC. Thanks to the particular trap geometry, a minimum consumption of liquid nitrogen (between 150 300 ml) is needed for each analytical run and no water managing system is normally required for humid air samples.     

Use of a temperature programmed injector with a packed liner for direct water analysis and on-line reversed phase LC–GC

A system is described that allows the introduction of large volumes of water samples in capillary GC. Water elimination is carried out in the solvent split mode in a PTV injector with a packed liner. Two ways of separating water and analytes, i.e. evaporative and non-evaporative (solid-phase extraction), are compared. Sampling in the solid-phase extraction mode is favorable both in terms of recovery as well as with regard to sampling time. Quantitative recovery is obtained for priority pollutants ranging in volatility from dimethyl-phenol to phenanthrene. Losses occur for more volatile compounds, but even for these compounds the repeatability of the recoveries remains acceptable. With the system described here, water samples up to at least 1 ml of water can be directly analyzed. The detection limits are in the sub-ppb range.     

Coupling device for desorption of drugs from solid-phase extraction-pipette tips and on-line gas chromatographic analysis.

Solid-phase extraction-pipette tips were used for micro solid-phase extraction of lidocaine and diazepam. Off-line desorption was done after in-vial collection for reference purposes, whereas with on-line desorption the eluate was directly introduced in the gas chromatograph. With both methods the total eluate (100 microl) was introduced into the GC system, which was equipped with a programmed-temperature vaporiser (PTV) for large volume injection. For on-line desorption a laboratory-made coupling device was developed to connect the pipette tips with the injector of the PTV. The coupling device was applied successfully since no leakage occurred at the connection of the coupling device and the pipette tip. No significant differences in recovery of lidocaine and diazepam and in presence of impurities were observed between chromatograms obtained with either off-line or on-line desorption. Preliminary experiments with standard solutions showed recoveries of about 75% for a concentration level of 1 microg/ml. The system seems particularly suitable for high-throughput analysis.     

Development and Applications of an Automated In-Column Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry System

A novel system for sample introduction into a Gas Chromatograph (GC) using an automated in-column pyrolysis device has been developed. The in-column pyrolysis device is suitable for use with any GC or GC-MS system. Solid samples are dissolved or emulsions can be diluted and injected into the system. Because the system is designed for introducing liquid samples, a better control of the injected sample amounts is achieved. This leads to high reproducibility of the peak areas, offering new opportunities for quantitation of polymers or other high molecular weight materials. In addition, a better statistical representation of the material to be analyzed is given if the samples are dissolved in a solvent. The system can be operated both in a normal GC injection mode, and in the pyrolysis mode. As a conventional GC injector working in on-column or Programmed Temperature Vaporization (PTV) injection mode, (without the pyrolysis function), information on the volatile fraction of a sample can be obtained. Once the volatile materials in the sample have been separated, a second analysis on the non-volatile matrix can be performed by initiating the pyrolysis sequence, yielding information on the non-volatile fraction of the sample. Both features, on column or PTV injection mode and in-column pyrolysis can be used separately or in combination. This new technology is expected to be useful for the determination of additives, monomers, solvents and other volatile components in a non volatile matrix, such as polymers, as well as in the characterization of the non-volatile matrix itself, in a single run. Revised: 20 June and 21 July 2005     

Analysis of 35 priority semivolatile compounds in water by stir bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. I. Method optimisation

A multiresidue method for the determination of 35 organic micropollutants (pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in water has been optimised using stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and thermal desorption coupled to capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In the present work, the different parameters affecting the extraction of the analytes from the water samples to the PDMS-coated stir bars and optimisation of conditions affecting thermal desorption are investigated. The optimised conditions consist of a 100-ml water sample with 20% NaCl addition extracted with 20 mm length x 0.5 mm film thickness stir bars at 900 rpm during 14 h at ambient temperature. Desorption is carried out at 280 degrees C during 6 min under a helium flow of 75 ml/min in the splitless mode while maintaining a cryofocusing temperature of 20 degrees C in the programmed-temperature vaporisation (PTV) injector of the GC-MS system. Finally, the PTV injector is ramped to a temperature of 280 degrees C and the analytes are separated in the GC and detected by MS using full scan mode (m/z 60-400). Under the described conditions, the good repeatability, high analyte recoveries and robustness, make SBSE a powerful tool for routine quality control analysis of the selected semivolatile compounds in water samples.     

Injector-internal thermal desorption from edible oils performed by programmed temperature vaporizing (PTV) injection

Injector-internal thermal desorption is a promising technique for the analysis of a wide range of food components (e.g., flavors) or food contaminants (e.g., solvent residues, pesticides, or migrants from packaging materials) in edible oils and fats or fatty food extracts. Separation from the fatty matrix occurs during injection. Using programmed temperature vaporizing (PTV) injection, the oily sample or sample extract was deposited on a small pack of glass wool from which the components of interest were evaporated and transferred into the column in splitless mode, leaving behind the bulk of the matrix. Towards the end of the analysis, the oil was removed by heating out the injector and backflushing the precolumn. The optimization dealt with the gas supply configuration enabling backflush, the injector temperature program (sample deposition, desorption, and heating out), separation of the sample liquid from the syringe needle and positioning it on a support, deactivation of the support surface, holding the plug of fused silica wool by a steel wire, and the analytical sequence maintaining adsorptivity at the desorption site low. It was performed for a mixture of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) plasticizers in oil or fatty food. Using MS in SIM, the detection limit was below 0.1 mg/kg for plasticizers forming single peaks and 1 mg/kg for mixtures like diisodecyl phthalate. For plasticizers, RSDs of the concentrations were below 10%; for the slip agents, oleamide and erucamide, it was 12%. The method of incorporating PTV injection was used for about one year for determining the migration from the gaskets of lids for glass jars into oily foods.     

PTV vapor overflow — principles of a solvent evaporation technique for introducing large volumes in capillary GC

The concept of a GC solvent evaporation technique is outlined that involves a modified Programmed Temperature Vaporizing (PTV) injector. The vapor overflow technique is intended for introducing samples in large volumes of solvent by syringe injection of strongly diluted samples or by coupled LC-GC. The liquid is introduced into a packed vaporizing chamber kept above the solvent boiling point at a pressure which is near or below ambient. The carrier gas is essentially switched off. Evaporation and discharge of the solvent vapors occurs by expansion of the vapors, driven by the solvent vapor pressure. For transferring the sapmple into the column, the carrier gas is switched on again and the vaporizing chamber heated. Compared to PTV solvent split injection, vapor overflow offers the following advantages: It automatically optimizes operational parameters, therefore facilitating its application. Losses of volatile materials are minimized by a minimal flow rate through the injector. Vapor overflow is a promising technique for transferring watercontaining eluents in coupled LC-GC since no wettability is required and leaching of pre-column surfaces is avoided.     

Programmed temperature vaporizer based method for the sensitive determination of trihalomethanes and benzene,toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in soils

A methodology based on the coupling of a headspace autosampler with a GC and a MS detector operating in SIM mode has been developed for the determination of volatile organic compounds (THMs and BTEX) in soils. The GC device used is equipped with a programmable temperature vaporizer (PTV) packed with Tenax-TA^® to introduce the samples (the injection mode used was solvent vent), and a modular accelerated column heater (MACH™) to control column temperature. The proposed measurement procedure reduces the sample pretreatment step to a minimum. Combined use of solvent vent injection mode and mass spectrometry detection allows a highly sensitive method to be proposed, with limits of detection of the order of ng/kg for all the target compounds. Furthermore, the capillary column used allows rapid separations of compounds in less than 4.60 min, affording a very short total analysis cycle time of 9 min.     

Determination of the carbon isotopic composition of whole/intact biological specimens using at-line direct thermal desorption to effect thermally assisted hydrolysis/methylation

In this paper, we discuss the use of a direct thermal desorption (DTD) interface as an alternative to Curie-point flash pyrolysis system as an inlet technique in gas chromatography-combustion isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C-IRMS) analysis of whole/intact phytoplankton and zooplankton specimens. The DTD in combination with a combipal auto-injector is programmed to perform the injection, evaporation of solvents, transport of capped programmed-temperature vaporizer (PTV) liners to the PTV injector and chemical derivatisation (thermally assisted hydrolysis/methylation; THM) such that a profile of a cellular fatty acids is obtained. Flow-cytometric sorted microalgae and handpicked zooplankton are used as samples with trimethylsulfonium hydroxide (TMSH) as methylating reagent. A major advantage of this novel approach over the Curie-point technique is the automation of the total procedure, which allows unattended analysis of large sample series. The profiles and delta(13)C carbon isotopic signatures of the fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) produced are very similar to those obtained using the Curie-point flash pyrolysis method. It is shown that algal samples must be kept no longer than 48 h in the DTD sample tray prior to the THM-analysis in order to maintain the integrity of their FAME profile.     

New high-performance cryofocalizer injector for in-tube solid-phase microextraction and headspace capillary gas chromatographic applications

The construction of a high-efficiency but cheap injector for volatile and very volatile compounds is shown. The device focuses the compounds in a fused-silica (FS) transfer capillary with the aid of liquid nitrogen. A 6.2 mm O.D. glass tube liner (ca. 25 cm x 1.5 mm I.D.) is inserted in the heated (-200 degrees C) injector of the gas chromatograph in place of the standard glass liner, and extends further externally through a liquid nitrogen container made with styrofoam-like material. Inside this glass tube, the FS transfer line passing through the oven door is connected like a pre-column to the analytical high-resolution GC column. It can move fast between the heated and the cooled zone (<-->, deltaL = 13 cm), and when this movement starts, crvofocused analytes are injected "at once" resulting in symmetrical and sharp injection bands with "zero" carryover. The performance of this device is demonstrated by its application to in-tube solid-phase microextraction and to spice volatiles analysis.     

The Analysis of Sulfur Compounds by Solid Adsorbent Tenax GR Preconcentration and Gas Chromatography with Flameless Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detection

Gas chromatography using flameless sulfur chemiluminescence detection was applied to the analysis of sulfur compounds in air. A trap employing the solid adsorbent Tenax GR was used to enrich ambient levels of volatile sulfur compounds. The sulfur gases were then thermally released according to programmed temperature from the adsorbent trap and re-collected in a column cooled with liquid nitrogen. The sulfur compounds were revolatilized and directly transferred to the system of PLOT-column gas chromatograph/flameless sulfur chemiluminescence detector for analysis. The PTV injector has been used as a thermal resorption chamber for analysis of sulfur compounds. The sulfur gaseous compounds known to cause nuisance odors in the air from sewerage treatment works were determined.     

Development of direct microwave desorption/gas chromatography mass spectrometry system for rapid analysis of volatile components in medicinal plants

A new direct microwave desorption–gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry method was developed for the analysis of the essential oils of medicinal plants. A homemade direct microwave desorption system was fabricated and used for the desorption of volatile components of medicinal herbs. The desorbed volatiles are transferred directly into the gas chromatography injector for analysis in a one‐step process. Approximately 0.3 g of the herb was needed for the desorption of samples in 60 s. In this study, more than 53 volatile compounds were identified and quantified for Echinophora platyloba DC as model herb sample. The results were found to be in good agreement with the conventional hydrodistillation extraction data. The described results show that direct microwave desorption is fast, simple, and easy to automate and requires only a small amount of sample. The results indicate that essential oil components valuable for varietal identification and characteristic of each variety analyzed when direct microwave desorption–gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry was used for analysis.     

Supercritical fluid extraction-capillary gas chromatography: On-line coupling with a programmed temperature vaporizer

A simple and versatile system is described for the on-line coupling of SFE to capillary GC. The interfacing consists of a programmed temperature vaporizer (PTV) injector. With this injector it is possible to combine solute trapping, elimination of a high flow of extraction fluid, and quantitative transfer of solutes to the seperation column. The problems caused by impurities in the extraction fluid in on-line SFE-GC are discussed. Simple methods are described for the purification of commercially available carbon dioxide. The trapping efficiency of the PTV injector is studied. Applications of the SFE-PTV-GC system are given for the analysis of polymer anti-degradants, polar compounds, and samples with environmental relevance.     

Influence of the injection technique and the column system on gas chromatographic determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers

In this paper, we present an investigation of the influence of the gas chromatographic separation system on the determination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Capillary columns, retention gaps and press-fit connectors, as well as different injection techniques have been evaluated with respect to yield and repeatability. The split/splitless injection has been optimized and compared to on-column injection, the septum equipped temperature programmable injector (SPI) and the programmable temperature vaporizing (PTV) injector. Furthermore, a comparison of the different operational modes of the PTV injector is presented. The results show that there are large variations in the yield of PBDEs depending on the column and the injection systems. Especially the high molecular weight BDE congeners can be subject to severe discrimination. Unfavorable conditions can lead to a complete loss of nona and deca substituted BDE congeners.     

Use of open-tubular trapping columns for on-line extraction–capillary gas chromatography of aqueous samples

The applicability of open-tubular trapping columns for on-line extraction–capillary GC analysis is evaluated. The extraction step involves sorption of the analytes from water into the stationary phase of an open-tubular column, removal of the water by purging the trap with nitrogen, and desorption of the analytes with an organic solvent. The effect of swelling of the stationary phase with organic solvents on the retention power of the trap is studied. When using pentane or hexane as swelling agent breakthrough volumes of at least 10 ml can easily be obtained for non-polar compounds. For a number of medium polarity compounds breakthrough volumes of 5 ml can be achieved when chloroform is used as the swelling agent. The required drying time is less than 1 minute. Quantitative desorption requires only 75 μl of organic solvent. Solvent elimination prior to transfer to the GC column is carried out using a PTV injector and a multidimensional GC system. The system is applied for the analyses of river water, urine, and serum samples.