Determination of organofluorine in air

Abstract

Organofluorine air contaminants at sub parts per million or higher levels are collected on a solid adsorbent (activated charcoal or graphitized carbon) or in water and then combusted in an oxyhydrogen torch. Combustion converts organic fluorine to hydrogen fluoride, and the fluoride ion is determined with a fluoride ion-selective electrode. The method avoids sample desorption problems and the separation of complex mixtures by commonly used gas chromatographic methods. The maximum concentration each fluoro compound can have in the air sample is calculated from the organofluorine concentration. A specific method may not be needed if the calculated maximum concentration is below an acceptable limit. In conjunction with a specific method, the organofluorine method can detect unidentified fluoro compounds in air not accounted for by the specific method.

Recent developments in methods for analysis of perfluorinated persistent pollutants

“…Most commonly for this purpose are employed combustion methods [82–86]. The hydrogen fluoride formed is adsorbed in an alkaline solution, and fluoride can be conventionally titrated by thorium (IV) [84], or determined by fluoride ion-selective electrode (ISE) [85, 86]. Fluoroorganic compounds can be also first adsorbed on carbon sorbent, and then burned together with sorbent in an oxygen atmosphere [85].…”

Peer Reviewed: Perfluorochemical Surfactants in the Environment

“…Fluorine in organic compounds can also be determined by combustion, converting it to an inorganic fluoride; however, rigorous conditions are required for quantitative mineralization. These techniques have been used for determining total fluorine in environmental and biological samples (6,7). In environmental matrixes, tests that measure methylene-blue-active substances have been used to detect anionic PFCs, but the approach is nonspecific (8).…”

Perfluorinated Surfactants and the Environmental Implications of Their Use in Fire-Fighting Foams

“…The nonspecific determination of the total organofluorine content of a water sample may be obtained using the oxyhydrogen combustion method (1,67). A water sample (e.g., 10 mL) introduced into the oxyhydrogen torch for combustion is completely mineralized to the fluoride ion, which is then trapped in an aqueous solution (1,68,69). The fluoride ion is then measured by an ion-selective electrode (1,68,70).…”