Quantification and Interpretation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Sediment Samples by a GC/MS Method and Comparison with EPA 418.1 and a Rapid Field Method

Abstract

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) as a lumped parameter can be easily and rapidly measured or monitored. Despite interpretational problems, it has become an accepted regulatory benchmark used widely to evaluate the extent of petroleum product contamination. Three currently used methods (GC/MS, conventional EPA 418.1, and a rapid field method PetroFLAG) were performed to quantify the TPH content in samples collected from a site contaminated by transformer oil. To standardize the method and improve the comparability of TPH data, crucial GC-based quantification issues were examined, e.g., quantification based on internal standards (ISTD) vs external standards (ESTD), single vs multiple ISTD, and various area integration approaches. The interpretation of hydrocarbon chromatographic results was examined in the context of field samples. The performance of the GC/MS method was compared with those of EPA 418.1 and PetroFLAG. As a result, it was observed that the ISTD quantification method was preferred to the ESTD method, multiple ISTD might be better than single ISTD, and three different area integration approaches did not have a significant effect on TPH results. Evaluation of the chromatograms between a reference sample and three unknown samples showed that the extent of contamination varied appreciably with sample depth. It was also found that there existed a good positive correlation between GC/MS and both EPA 418.1 and PetroFLAG, and that EPA 418.1 produced the higher overall estimate while GC/MS and PetroFLAG resulted in lower, more statistically comparable TPH values.

The biological treatment of high salinity synthetic oilfield produced water in a submerged membrane bioreactor using a halophilic bacterial consortium

“…The GC/MS running condition was: 50°C initial temperature, 2 min isothermal, 8°C min −1 ramp to a final temperature of 290°C with a 10 min isothermal, for a total run time of 42 min for each sample. The degree of TPH degradation was determined by comparing the total area of the chromatogram of the PW feed and effluent …”

“…The degree of TPH degradation was determined by comparing the total area of the chromatogram of the PW feed and effluent. 16,48 Statistical analysis Statistical analyses of the experimental data, including oneway ANOVA and linear correlation analysis, were performed using Minitab version 16 (Minitab Inc., State College PA, USA). Correlations were considered statistically significant when P < 0.05.…”

An Improved Gravimetric Method to Determine Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Contaminated Soils

“…Soil samples were sieved (Sieve 10, ASTM-2 mm, followed by Sieve 200, ASTM-75 μm), and dried to 105°C for 12 h (Schwab et al 1999;Xie et al 1999). These were homogenized mechanically for several hours, and approximate accurately weighed 10 g subsamples were placed in round flasks previously dried (105°C) to constant weight.…”

Toxicidad no específica en sedimentos portuarios, una aproximación al contenido de contaminantes críticos: an approach to the content of critical pollutants

“…Para la determinación de HAPs se utilizaron 10 g de sedimento seco, el cual se extrajo en soxhlet con n-hexano por 4 h (Xie et al 1999). El extracto fue reducido a 1,5 mL e inyectado en un cromatógrafo de gases acoplado a un espectrómetro de masa modelo GC-17A con inyector SHIMADZU ® AOC.…”