Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications
Campus Units
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Toxicology
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Accepted Manuscript
Publication Date
7-1-2016
Journal or Book Title
Talanta
Volume
154
First Page
46
Last Page
52
DOI
10.1016/j.talanta.2016.03.050
Abstract
Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) comprise one of the most ubiquitous and hazardous groups of ambient air pollutants of concern. Application of standard analytical methods for quantification of BTEX is limited by the complexity of sampling and sample preparation equipment, and budget requirements. Methods based on SPME represent simpler alternative, but still require complex calibration procedures. The objective of this research was to develop a simpler, low-budget, and accurate method for quantification of BTEX in ambient air based on SPME and GC–MS. Standard 20-mL headspace vials were used for field air sampling and calibration. To avoid challenges with obtaining and working with ‘zero’ air, slope factors of external standard calibration were determined using standard addition and inherently polluted lab air. For polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber, differences between the slope factors of calibration plots obtained using lab and outdoor air were below 14%. PDMS fiber provided higher precision during calibration while the use of Carboxen/PDMS fiber resulted in lower detection limits for benzene and toluene. To provide sufficient accuracy, the use of 20 mL vials requires triplicate sampling and analysis. The method was successfully applied for analysis of 108 ambient air samples from Almaty, Kazakhstan. Average concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene were 53, 57, 11 and 14 µg m−3, respectively. The developed method can be modified for further quantification of a wider range of volatile organic compounds in air. In addition, the new method is amenable to automation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Copyright Owner
Elsevier B.V.
Copyright Date
2016
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Baimatova, Nassiba; Kenessov, Bulat; Koziel, Jacek A.; Carlsen, Lars; Bektassov, Marat; and Demyanenko, Olga P., "Simple and accurate quantification of BTEX in ambient air by SPME and GC–MS" (2016). Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications. 917.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs/917
Included in
Environmental Health Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons
Comments
This article is published as Baimatova, Nassiba, Bulat Kenessov, Jacek A. Koziel, Lars Carlsen, Marat Bektassov, and Olga P. Demyanenko. "Simple and accurate quantification of BTEX in ambient air by SPME and GC–MS." Talanta 154 (2016): 46-52. DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2016.03.050. Posted with permission.