Results from interlaboratory comparisons of aldehyde-2,4 dinitrophenylhydrazone analysis

Within the framework of the SMT "Aldehydes" project (SMT4-CT97-2910) three laboratory comparisons have been organized in which artificial aldehyde hydrazone samples have been distributed among participating laboratories. To these samples potentially interfering compounds have been added to simulate as closely as possible real air or air emission samples.In addition to the "Aldehydes" project partners external EU laboratories have participated. It may, therefore, be assumed that the results of these comparisons reflect the state-of-the-art in the analytical determination of aldehydes in air samples using the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH)-method. In this paper several aspects of the organization of these comparisons and the overall results obtained are presented. These demonstrate that results obtained using liquid chromatographic techniques are usually comparable between laboratories within +/-2 times the coefficient of variation (approximately 6-15%), indicating the robustness of the methodology. In addition, laboratory (liquid chromatography) mean results can be made to agree with preparation concentrations at the 95% confidence levels after optimization of separation and integration conditions; these are mainly related to the measurement of formaldehyde in the presence of interferents and the measurement of low concentrations of acrolein and acetone. Some problem areas still remain, however--namely the measurement of glutaraldehyde and the measurement of low levels of acetone.