Determination of complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds in ambient air: an overview

Abstract

This article reviews developments in the sampling and analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air since the 1970s, particularly in the field of environmental monitoring. Global monitoring of biogenic and anthropogenic VOC emissions is briefly described. Approaches used for environmental monitoring of VOCs and industrial hygiene VOC exposure assessments are compared. The historical development of the sampling and analytical methods used is discussed, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of sorbent and canister methods are identified. Overall, there is considerable variability in the reliability of VOC estimates and inventories. In general, canister methods provide superior precision and accuracy and are particulary useful for the analysis of complex mixtures of VOCs. Details of canister methods are reviewed in a companion paper.

Derivatization techniques for determination of carbonyls in air

“…For the interested reader, there have been a number of reviews since the 1970s on CC detectability/analysis [19,68,69], and VOCs in general [3,70]. Barro et al [62] reviewed CC-detection methods and their limit of detection (LOD); however, the LODs are listed with a diverse set of units (e.g., pg, ng m −3 or μmol L −1 ), which makes direct comparison between different methods difficult, as the sample sizes have not been specified.…”

Determination of phosphine and other fumigants in air samples by thermal desorption and 2D heart-cutting gas chromatography with synchronous SIM/Scan mass spectrometry and flame photometric detection

“…Thermal desorption coupled to GC-MS is often used for the analysis of air samples [20][21][22]. The samples are either collected by active sampling on sorbent tubes and analysed by dual stage desorption (by desorption from the tube and refocusing on a cold trap and final desorption from the cold trap to the GC column) or the samples are collected in canisters or Tedlar bags and the analytes are directly focussed on the cold trap.…”

Validation of an Evacuated Canister Method for Measuring Part-Per-Billion Levels of Chemical Warfare Agent Simulants

“…In addition to instantaneous sampling, collecting airborne VOCs directly in evacuated canisters has the following advantages over the current NIOSH methods 6 : a wider range of sampling times, whole air sampling, no breakthrough of target compounds, no thermal or solvent desorption, ruggedness, no field calibration necessary, sample stability, less maintenance (e.g., no batteries to charge), and the ability to perform repeat analysis on the same sample. Evacuated canisters can also be equipped with a passive flow regulation system to provide sampling times ranging from 3 min to 1 week, depending on the size of the canister and the characteristics of the flow regulation system.…”