Versatile options for extending analyte range and sensitivity for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water and soil by automated, cryogen-free headspace and SPME–trap with GC–MS
Presented at IWA, Taiwan, 2024
Chemical contamination of environmental air, water and soil is a major concern to industries and government regulators for many reasons, including the negative impacts on human health and the role certain chemicals play in global climate. As such, stringent protocols must be met to avoid or rectify contamination of water sources and soil from intentional and accidental discharges from industry, agriculture and urban pollution as well as improper waste disposal.
Chemical contamination requires extensive treatment, but such processes can also result in the formation of new contaminants, e.g., trihalomethanes are formed by reaction of the common oxidant chlorine with organic matter. Such contamination is naturally of concern, and acceptable levels for the volatile organic compound (VOC) content in various water types are specified by global regulatory bodies, including the European EEA, US EPA, Chinese EPA and WHO. Degradation of soil health is typically caused by anthropogenic sources causing an adverse impact on global economy, with an estimated annual cost of $231 billion. In the UK and USA alone, these annual costs are estimated to be $2 billion and $22 billion, respectively. The health of soils affects the whole earth system, so it is essential that soil health is monitored to ensure these ecosystems are well maintained.
In this poster, we demonstrate versatile options for monitoring VOCs in water and soil to:
- Increase the sensitivity of existing techniques, using a multi-bed focusing trap to go beyond regulatory concentration limits, down to the ppt-levels.
- Enable analysis of a wide volatility range of compounds in a single run, thanks to backflush trap operation.
- Assess applicability of these enhanced techniques to real-world samples.
