Membrane Extraction of Volatile Organic Compounds in Combination with Mobile Gas Chromatographic Analysis

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Abstract
The field of application of a mobile gas chromatographic device (Airmobtx monitor HC 1000 manufactured by Airmotec GmbH) originally conceived for the analysis of BTEX in air was extended to water analysis by using it in conjunction with membrane extraction. Volatile organic compounds diffuse out of water through a hollow fibre or flat membrane, are enriched onto sorption tubes integrated in the device, and then thermally desorbed and analysed by the gas chromatograph/flame ionisation detector. The suitability of various flat membranes and hollow fibres was investigated. Maximum extraction efficiency was obtained with a silicone hollow fibre measuring 0.3 m long, and with an inner diameter of 0.7 mm and a wall thickness of 100 μm. The extraction parameters were optimised. The linear dynamic range of the optimised method spans two orders of magnitude and the detection limits were found to be 0.1 μg/L for all BTEX compounds. By way of environmental applications, highly contaminated groundwater samples were analysed. The results correspond well to those achieved using conventional headspace/gas chromatography/flame ionisation detection.