Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Sampling and Analysis of Animal Scent Signals
Published on: February 13, 2021
Development of a simple and sensitive method for the characterization of odorous waste gas emissions by means of
1Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Waste Management, Harburger Schlossstr. 36, D-21079 Hamburg, Germany. k.kleeberg@tu-harburg.de
Abstract:
A solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method has been developed for the extraction of odorous compounds from waste gas. The enriched compounds were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography followed by simultaneous flame ionization detection and olfactometry (GC-FID/O). Five different SPME fiber coatings were tested, and the carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) fiber showed the highest ability to extract odorous compounds from the waste gas. Furthermore, parameters such as exposure time, desorption temperature, and desorption time have been optimized. The SPME method was successfully used to characterize an odorous waste gas from a fat refinery prior to and after waste gas treatment in order to describe the treatment efficiency of the used laboratory scale plant which consisted of a bioscrubber/biofilter combination and an activated carbon adsorber. The developed method is a valuable approach to provide detailed information of waste gas composition and complements existing methods for the determination of odors. However, caution should be exercised if CAR/PDMS fibers are used for the quantification of odorous compounds in multi-component matrices like waste gas emissions since the relative affinity of each analyte was shown to differ according to the total amount of analytes present in the sample.
Related Concept Videos
Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS)
A gas chromatograph consists of a long, narrow capillary column with a polysiloxane coating on the inner wall. The coating...
Gas Chromatography: Types of Detectors-II
Gas Chromatography: Introduction
In GC, a sample is vaporized and mixed with an inert carrier gas (the mobile phase), which transports it through a column.
Gas Chromatography: Types of Detectors-I
TCD is the earliest and most widely used detector that operates by measuring the changes in the thermal conductivity of the carrier gas. When a sample compound enters the detector,...
Gas Chromatography: Overview of Detectors
A non-destructive detector allows a sample to be analyzed without altering or consuming it, meaning the sample can be collected after detection for further analysis. Examples include thermal conductivity detectors and...

