Determination of Trace Levels of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters in Aviation Fuel by GC × GC–FID and Comparison with the Reference GC–MS Method

Due to the negative impact of the presence of fatty acid methyl esters in kerosene for the aviation industry, in this work a comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography method with flame ionization detector for the determination of trace levels of fatty acid methyl esters in kerosene was developed. It is based on the use of a first dimension polar column and a second dimension non-polar column. Identification of fatty acid methyl esters is based on retention times and the external standard calibration is used for quantitation. Results were compared with those obtained from the GC–MS reference method; good recoveries, close to 100 %, and limit of detection in a range from 3 to 6 μg kg⁻¹ were found without requiring a specific detector.