HTC-15

HTC-15 - Abstract

Abstract Title: Combining high-capacity sorptive extraction with Thermal desorption pre-concentration for analysis of (S)VOCs in environmental samples
Abstract Type: Poster
Session Choice: Energy & the Environment
Presenter Name: Dr Lara Kelly
Co-authors:Mr Gareth Roberts
Mr Massimo Santoro
Ms Ilaria Ferrante
Company/Organisation: Markes International Ltd
Country: United Kingdom

Abstract Information :

Analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organics in environmental samples often requires extensive sample preparation for efficient extraction and concentration the target analytes. Thermal desorption has commonly been employed as a 'solvent-free' sampling approach for environmental air monitoring, but has historically been limited in its ability to deal with liquid matrices.

High-capacity sorptive extraction offers a novel, simple sampling technique which may be employed to liquid samples, and coupled with TD for analysis by GCMS. Building on well established techniques such as SPME, this new approach provides offers the generation of additional sample information due to its increased sample capacity, robust design, and compatibility with TD pre-concentration. This methodology can be applied to a range of environmental applications for S(VOCs) including water, wastewaster and soil samples.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one example of a particularly harmful group of organic compounds which are of environmental importance. Analysis of these compounds often involves requires labor-intensive liquid extraction, which makes these methods difficult to automate and can, by their nature, dilute the sample. In this poster, we describe the development of High capacity sorptive extraction with TD–GC–MS method for a number of environmental samples including PAHs, using a new generation of thermal desorbers with outstanding capabilities for these often challenging analytes.