SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1979
STP35010S

Semiautomated Headspace Analysis of Drinking Waters and Industrial Waters for Purgeable Volatile Organic Compounds

Source

The design and operation of a semiautomated dynamic headspace technique for the determination of purgeable volatile organics ate described. All critical analytical functions except the sample introduction step have been automated and are operated under computer control. These include the functions of: purging and sorption, desorption and injection, gas chromatographic analysis and data reduction, and recycling of the purging device and sorbent trap for succeeding analyses.

Application of the system to the analysis of drinking waters and industrial waste waters is discussed. Single-laboratory accuracy and precision data and the results of an interlaboratory study on selected halogenated purgeable compounds are presented. The method has been applied to 32 such compounds that are considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be hazardous or toxic materials. These include the haloforms; other chlorinated compounds ranging from gases (at room temperature), such as vinyl chloride, to liquids, such as dichlorobenzenes; and nonhalogenated compounds, such as benzene and toluene.

Sample collection, shipment, and storage procedures are recommended. Optimized analytical operating conditions are defined for the sample size, the purge time and flow rate, the trap dimensions and sorbent materials, the desorption temperature, time and flow rate, and the gas chromatographic conditions. Flame ionization and halogen-specific (conductivity or microcoulometric titration) detectors are used for qualitative and quantitative determination.

Author Information

Bellar, TA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio
Lichtenberg, JJ
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, Cincinnati, Ohio
Price: $25.00
Contact Sales
Related
Reprints and Permissions
Reprints and copyright permissions can be requested through the
Copyright Clearance Center
Details
Developed by Committee: D19
Pages: 108–129
DOI: 10.1520/STP35010S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4753-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0508-9