Monoterpenes in Air Samples: European Intercomparison Experiments

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Abstract
An intercomparison experiment on preconcentration of monoterpenes from air samples was carried out by three European laboratories (Technische Universität München [TUM], Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse [INP], Joint Research Center Isprs [JRC]) using Tenax porous polymer as an adsorbent. Sampling procedures, gas chromatographic analysis and standardisation methods differed in each laboratory and were compared in this study. Tenax adsorption tubes loaded with up to 10 monoterpenes (tricyclene, α-pinene, β-pinene, camphene, sabinene, myrcene, δ3-carene, p-cymene, 1,8-cineole and limonene) were created independently and exchanged for analysis between the working groups. For most monoterpenes the recoveries found by the different laboratories were 100%. The precision of analyses was better than 20%. Independent determinations of α-pinene mixing ratios in the air of the crown region in a natural spruce stand corresponded satisfactorily. Monoterpene emission rates of attached twigs in the sun crown of field grown spruce trees were also determined with good agreement.