Determination of Phenols from Automobile Exhaust by Means of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)

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Abstract
Phenol, m-, p-, o-cresol, 2,4-, 2,6-, 3,4-, 3,5-xylenol, 2,3,6-, 2,4,6-trimethylphenol were determined in engine exhaust. Sampling was performed by a conventional Grimmer device. A sample of the water condensate collected was extracted with ether. After concentration of the ether extract, phenols were isolated from other interfering compounds by stepwise elution on a Lobar column packed with LiChroprep Si 60 under controlled conditions. Relative recovery of the majority of reference phenols ranged from 90-100%. Separation of phenols into individual components was performed on polar and reverse phase packings. Quantitative analysis was carried out on a prepacked Zorbax ODS column of 250 .times. 4.6 mm in acetonitrile/water of 30/70 (vol/vol) using a UV photometer of 254 nm wavelength. Phenols in the extract of the exhaust were identified on the basis of retention times and by spectroscopic means. Quantitative analysis was performed by peak height measurements using 2,4-dichlorophenol as internal standard. Concentration of phenols ranged from 1-10 ppm or 0.03-0.18 mg/m3 of exhaust.