A Newly Designed Solid-Phase Extraction-type Collection Device for Precise Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are significant air pollutants.
• Accurate monitoring of airborne PAHs is crucial for environmental and health assessments.
• Existing methods for PAH collection can be cumbersome and less efficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel solid-phase extraction (SPE)-type collection device for airborne PAHs.
• To assess the collection and elution efficiency of the device for PAHs with two to five rings.
• To demonstrate the device's applicability for precise determination of PAHs in atmospheric air.

Main Methods:

• A styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer adsorbent was used in an SPE-type collection device.
• The device's performance was evaluated for collection capacity and elution efficiency using dichloromethane.
• Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed for analyte determination.
• Both small-bore and wide-bore devices were tested for different air sampling volumes.

Main Results:

• The adsorbent quantitatively collected PAHs up to 3 m³ of air at 35°C.
• Complete elution of PAHs was achieved with 3 mL of dichloromethane without carry-over.
• The collection process was not affected by moisture, preventing interference with GC-MS analysis.
• The wide-bore device was successfully applied for precise determination of PAHs in atmospheric air.

Conclusions:

• The newly designed SPE-type collection device provides a rapid, easy, and reusable method for airborne PAH determination.
• The device's performance makes it suitable for precise monitoring of PAHs in environmental air.
• The device holds potential for the determination of other semi-volatile organic compounds in air samples.