Automated in situ analysis of volatile sulfur gases using a Sulfur Gas Analyser (SUGAR) based on cryogenic trapping and gas-chromatographic separation

Based on the technique of cryogenic trapping, gas-chromatographic separation, and flame-photometric detection, we designed an instrument for the analysis of reduced sulfur compounds. The fully automated Sulfur Gas Analyser (SUGAR) consists of a dual sampling system, an electrically cooled cryotrap, and a newly devised small gas chromatograph, which is integrated mechanically and in terms of system control. The system incorporates microprocessor control and provides significant ease of operation. All operational parameters necessary for a complete sampling audit trail are logged on non-volatile memory. SUGAR achieves adequate sensitivity for measuring reduced sulfur gases at typical atmospheric concentrations. Applications under laboratory conditions and in the field demonstrate the versatility of the automated system. Field deployment proved the capability of continuous operation over a period of several weeks. The potential for further improvements of sensitivity and portability by use of different sulfur specific GC detectors is discussed.     

吹扫捕集-气相色谱联用技术在挥发性有机化合物测定中的应用

对最近几年来吹扫捕集技术与气相色谱联用测定不同样品中挥发性有机化合物的研究进展进行了综述。引用参考文献54篇。     

顶空气相色谱法测定化妆品中15种挥发性有机溶剂残留

建立了化妆品中15种挥发性有机溶剂残留的顶空气相色谱测定方法。样品经60 ℃、30 min静态顶空后,采用气相色谱-氢火焰离子化检测器进行检测,外标法定量。加标回收试验结果表明: 15种挥发性有机溶剂残留平均回收率为62.8%～116%,相对标准偏差均小于5%。方法的检出限为0.09～0.68 mg/kg。该方法可有效克服基体干扰,一次进样可同时分离和测定化妆品中15种挥发性有机溶剂,准确灵敏,简单快速,适用于化妆品中挥发性有机溶剂残留的检测。     

Rapid analysis of hydrocarbons and inert gases by a multidimensional gas chromatograph

A combination of a pressure switching system with multiple columns and photoionization detectors makes possible rapid analysis of a mixture of inorganic gases and hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are separated by a narrow bore capillary column. An alumina PLOT column is used for the separation of lower molecular weight hydrocarbons, especially C4 isomers, while a combination of a micro-packed column with Porapak N and a PLOT capillary column with Molecular Sieve 5A is used for the fast separation of inorganic gases. A photoionization detector is a powerful additional tool for organic gas analysis.     

二氧化锡气体传感器快速检测挥发性有机化合物

论述了将SnO2气体传感器作为便携式气相色谱检测器,重点是挥发有机化合物(VOCs)检测方法的可行性研究。SnO2气体传感器的动态范围103;最小检测浓度(苯)8.12×10-4g/L、面积重现性<6%,取得了较满意的结果。对SnO2气体检测器的加热电压、温度特性和快速检测指标作了基本分析和考察,最后将SnO2气体传感器和FID检测器进行了初步比较。实验表明,将其作为专用便携色谱检测器,可以基本满足快速分析应用的要求。     

Evaluation of the suitability of sampling on Tenax TA and polydimethylsiloxane for the analysis of combustion gases

Two sorbents commonly employed for air sampling were selected for the evaluation of their suitability for the analysis of combustion gases namely Tenax TA as adsorbent and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as absorbent. Target compounds were selected among the gaseous combustion products of polyurethane foam and fire-retarded polystyrene. The combustion gases were generated by burning test materials in the flame of a Bunsen burner. Gaseous combustion products were sampled simultaneously with the two sorbents using a two-way adapter, thereby exposing each sorbent to the same combustion gas atmosphere. Special attention was given to the deterioration encountered in the Tenax TA performance upon repeated combustion gas exposure, limiting its use for sampling reactive atmospheres.     

A GC-system for the analysis of residual geothermal gases

Summary The gases evolved from geothermal fields, after condensation of H₂O, CO₂, H₂S and NH₃ in caustic solution, contain He, H₂, Ar, O₂, N₂, CH₄ and higher hydrocarbons. The analysis for the major components in these residual gas mixtures can be achieved by use of two simple gas chromatographs in parallel, and using 5Å molecular sieve. The separation of He and H₂ to baseline is achieved by using low temperatures (30°C) coupled with a relatively long column; and the difficult separation of Ar and O₂ is achieved by use of a cryogenically cooled column. The use of switching valves to backflush and bypass columns ensures that a minimum time for analysis can be achieved whilst retaining baseline separations of the He/H₂ and Ar/O₂ pairs.     

Characterisation of aroma volatiles of indigenous alcoholic beverages: burukutu and pito

Pito and burukutu are indigenous alcoholic beverages in Nigeria, and are fermentation products of Sorghum bicolor and Sorghum vulgare. The production is similar to that of beer, which involves steeping, malting, mashing and fermenting. A total of 30 volatile organic compounds were identified by gas chromatography. These compounds can be broadly grouped into alkanols, phenols, acids, esters, ketones and aldehydes. Although few acids are present, they are dominant (30.887% and 27.669%) and followed by esters (26.467% and 27.442%) in pito and burukutu, respectively. Alkanols constitute the next dominant group after acids and esters; however, ethanol was not identified as a constituent. The health and social implication of the constituents are explained.     

Polytrimethylsilylpropyne as adsorbent for separation of gases

Polytrimethylpropyne supported on a solid substrate was proposed as a chromatographic adsorbent for the separation of hydrocarbon gases. The heats of adsorption of hydrocarbon gases were determined. The efficiency of application of this sorbent for the selective separation of C₁--C₄ hydrocarbon gases in packed columns was demonstrated.     

Solubility of some carrier gases in stationary liquid phases used in gas-liquid chromatography

A simple gas chromatographic technique for the determination of the solubility of gases in low-volatile liquids was proposed. The procedure is based on the introduction of a certain volume of the liquid saturated with the gas at atmospheric pressure into a gas chromatograph. The solubility of carrier gases (helium, hydrogen, nitrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide) in various stationary liquid phases (SLP), such as pentadecane, polydimethylsiloxane PMS-100, and polyethylene glycol PEG-600, was studied. The carrier gases studied can be arranged in the following series by solubility in SLP: He<H₂<N₂<CH₄<CO₂. This order coincides with the series reflecting change in the retention values in GLC for different carrier gases. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 923–925, May, 1999.     

热解吸直接进样气相色谱法分析室内空气中的总挥发性有机化合物

建立室内空气中总挥发性有机化合物的热解吸直接进样气相色谱分析方法。采集的空气样品吸附于Tenax吸附管中,将吸附管置于热解吸仪上,解吸气体直接由进样阀快速进入气相色谱仪进行分析,采用非极性石英毛细管柱,氢火焰离子化检测器检测。8种组分的线性范围为0.01～11.04μg,检测限为0.001～0.006μg,测定结果的相对标准偏差RSD≤4.8%。该方法符合室内空气中总挥发性有机化合物分析的要求。     

Volatile organic compounds generated by cultures of bacteria and viruses associated with respiratory infections

Respiratory infections (RI) can be viral or bacterial in origin. In either case, the invasion of the pathogen results in production and release of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The present study examines the VOCs released from cultures of five viruses (influenza A, influenza B, adenovirus, respiratory syncitial virus and parainfluenza 1 virus), three bacteria (Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae and Legionella pneumophila) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae isolated colonies. Our results demonstrate the involvement of inflammation‐induced VOCs. Two significant VOCs were identified as associated with infectious bacterial activity, heptane and methylcyclohexane. These two VOCs have been linked in previous studies to oxidative stress effects. In order to distinguish between bacterial and viral positive cultures, we performed principal component analysis including peak identity (retention time) and VOC concentration (i.e. area under the peak) revealing 1‐hexanol and 1‐heptadecene to be good predictors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of Toluene and Ethanol in Urine by Headspace and Cryotrapping Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Toluene is the major volatile organic compound found in glue and is often used as a hallucinogenic for abusers. Use with alcohol increases the risk of adverse effects from toluene exposure. In this study, a headspace and cryotrapping gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the determination of toluene and ethanol in urine. Experimental and instrumental variables were investigated to optimize the method for sensitivity. Excess sodium sulfate was used as the salting-out reagent before the headspace protocol. Linear least squares regression with a 1/x weighting factor was used to construct calibration curves from 0.002 to 0.4?µg?mL^?1 for toluene and 10 to 2000?µg?mL^?1 for ethanol. The correlation coefficients exceeded 0.9993. The limits of detection were 0.0005?µg?mL^?1 for toluene and 0.21?µg?mL^?1 for ethanol. Intraday and interday precisions were within 5.4 and 11.5%, while intraday and interday accuracies were between ?11.3 to ?4.0% and ?11.0 to 1.2%, respectively. The method validation results for selectivity and stability were satisfactory. The validation results were used to estimate the expanded uncertainty and the contribution of individual steps in the method for the quantification of toluene and ethanol. The relative expanded uncertainties were 14.1% for toluene and 4.6% for ethanol.     

Viscosities of carrier gases at gas chromatograph temperatures and pressures

Summary Equations are derived for viscosities of H₂, He, N₂ and Ar for use at chromatographic temperatures which are accurate to within 0.3% for H₂, and 0.1% for the other gases. The effect of pressure is usually negligible but may increase the viscosity of N₂ or Ar by as much as 0.5% at 25°C or lower and 5 atm or higher.     

Searching for Potential Markers of Glomerulopathy in Urine by HS-SPME-GC×GC TOFMS

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) exiting in urine are potential biomarkers of chronic kidney diseases. Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was applied for extraction VOCs over the urine samples. Volatile metabolites were separated and identified by means of two-dimensional gas chromatography and time of flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC TOF MS). Patients with glomerular diseases (n = 27) and healthy controls (n = 20) were recruited in the study. Different VOCs profiles were obtained from patients and control. Developed methodology offers the opportunity to examine the metabolic profile associated with glomerulopathy. Four compounds found in elevated amounts in the patients group, i.e., methyl hexadecanoate; 9-hexadecen-1-ol; 6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one and 2-pentanone were proposed as markers of glomerular diseases.     

用吸附－热脱捕集进样法研究茉莉花香释放过程中化学成分

本文采用吸附－热脱法作为头香成分的捕集和进样工具，并以气相色谱和气相色谱／质谱作为分析手段，对茉莉鲜花蕾的释香过程成分变化作跟踪测定，结果表明释香的各阶段组成分有明显的不同，为精油生产选择合理的投料时间提供科学依据。     

热解吸-气相色谱法测定植物源挥发性有机物

以Tenax-TA、Carboxen 1000和Carbosieve SⅢ为采样管填充料,将植物源挥发性有机物吸附于采样管内,样品通过二次热解吸仪解吸后,随载气进入气相色谱仪,采用氢火焰离子化检测器(FID)测定,建立了利用二次热解吸仪与气相色谱联用技术测定植物挥发性有机物的分析方法。载气N2流速为30 mL/min,60℃下吹扫吸附管2 min,然后在250℃下解吸吸附管5 min,冷却1 min后,在275℃下解吸聚焦管3 min,样品经传输线进入气相色谱。气相色谱载气N2压力为190 kPa,FID检测器温度280℃;进样口温度225℃;初始柱温40℃,停留5 min,以2℃/min升温至120℃,保留1 min,然后以20℃/min升温至200℃,保留10 min。方法重现性好,精密度高,线性相关系数大于0.99;检出限均低于9×10-9g/L;解吸效率大于96%,适用于植物源挥发性有机物的测定。     

顶空–气相色谱/质谱法测定餐垫纸中16种挥发性有机物残留

采用顶空–气相色谱/质谱法同时测定餐垫纸中16种挥发性有机化合物(无水乙醇、异丙醇、正丁醇、丙酮、丁酮、己醛乙酸乙酯、乙酸异丙酯、乙酸丁酯、丙二醇甲醚、乙酸正丙酯、苯、甲苯、间二甲苯、对二甲苯、邻二甲苯)的含量。采用恒流模式,流速设定为2.5 mL/min,程序升温,16种挥发性有机化合物可以很好地分离。各成分工作曲线的相关系数r2均大于0.999 5,加标回收率在86.6%~104.8%之间,测定结果的相对标准偏差均不大于6.9%(n=6);各成分的检出限均低于0.01 mg/m2。该法具有进样简单,分离效果好,精密度高等特点,能够满足餐垫纸中挥发性有机物检测要求。     

Biological technologies for the treatment of atmospheric pollutants

Most industrial activities emit atmospheric pollutants nowadays. Many of these activities are performed in stationary hotspots such as chemical industry facilities, wastewater and solid waste treatment plants. Other important stationary sources of gas pollutants include facilities for mining, intensive livestock farming and rendering. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odours and greenhouse gases are released from the above-mentioned sources, leading to issues related to global warming, health disorders and complaints to public administrations due to odour annoyance. When the release of atmospheric pollutants cannot be prevented, the sort of pollutants, their concentration and the flow rate of the waste gas emission must be characterised in order to select the most cost-effective treatment technology. Over the last decades, the use of biological technologies for the treatment of atmospheric pollutants has gradually increased due to their proven robustness, high cost-effectiveness and low environmental impact. The fundamentals of the most commonly implemented biological technologies in industrial applications (biofiltration, biotrickling filtration, bioscrubbing and activated sludge diffusion) are described in this work. The latest findings in the field of biological technologies for air pollution control are also presented and discussed.     

Volatile metal and metalloid species in gases from municipal waste deposits

We have detected volatile species of silicon, vanadium, arsenic, bromine, tin, antimony, tellurium, iodine, mercury, lead and bismuth in gases released from domestic waste deposits, using inductively coupled argon plasma mass spectrometry (ICP MS). By concurrent aspiration of a multielement standard solution for calibration, the element concentrations in deposit gas are found to be in the range from 0.1 ng m^?3 to 10 μg m^?3 gas. The global amount of some metal species emitted by this process may be of the order of several tons per year. These results suggest a biogeochemical pathway for the transfer of metals into the atmosphere via volatile species. This process may have significant influence on atmospheric cycling of metals as well as on metal toxicity within ecosystems.