Research has focused on the development of a new set of mathematical algorithms, encoded in C(++), when combined with a thermal desorption sample introduction system provides quantitative analysis of a wide mixture of organic compounds in under 10 min by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The overall goal is to condense the time of analysis, including both the times required for sample preparation and for chromatographic separation. In this paper, results are presented where compound identification has been made for polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorinated pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons present in the same solution and where gas chromatography separation times have been reduced from 40 to 5 min. For the latter, all compounds elute within 3.5 min, with structural isomers identified as the same compound. The 5-min analysis provides the foundation for rapid screening and on-line chemical measurements of multicomponent mixtures. Results are also presented where these same compounds are quantitatively analyzed in 10 min, with structural isomers identified individually, in the presence of a (25% v/v) weathered gasoline/engine oil mixture. Time-condensed complex mixture detection is now feasible making possible quantitative, high-throughput sample analyses.
A thermal extraction cone penetrometry gas chromatography/mass spectrometry system (TECP GC/MS) has been developed to detect subsurface contaminants in situ. The TECP can collect soil-bound organics up to depths of 30 m. In contrast to traditional cone penetrometer sample collectors, the TECP extracts organics from soil without bringing the soil to the surface or into a collection chamber. Results show that polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorinated pesticides, and explosives can be recovered (60-95%) from wet or dry soil, with extraction efficiency compound-specific. The data are in remarkable agreement with closed cell thermal desorption (TD) experiments, where no organics are lost to the environment during heating. TECP GC/MS results also compare favorably with solvent-extracted GC/MS analyses and can be used to delineate the presence and extent of contamination at hazardous waste sites. Data illustrating TECP dependence on probe temperature and soil moisture as well as carrier gas linear velocity and volume (modified Reynolds number) are shown along with sample analysis data from two hazardous waste sites. The total ion and reconstructed ion current chromatograms are shown for PAHs collected by TECP from a coal tar contaminated soil obtained at a manufactured gas plant in Massachusetts. TECP and TD results are within 15% for nonvolatile PAHs and within 50% of the solvent-extracted data.
The design of an in situ sampling device capable of thermally desorbing organics bound to subsurface soils at depths of up to 20 meters is described. The system consists of a heated transfer line and sampling probe that is hydraulically pushed to depth by a cone penetrometer. Results are presented illustrating the thermal extraction efficiency for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Field tests were conducted under real-world conditions at a vehicle maintenance facility where 50 gal drums of petroleum by-products had been buried. PAH data were collected demonstrating the depth profiling features of the tool.
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