Abstract
A field experiment for the comparison of the efficiency of canisters and adsorption multibed tubes for sampling atmospheric highly volatile hydrocarbons at ppbv levels is described. The canister was passivated by the Summa process and the adsorption tubes were filled with Carbotrap C, Carbotrap B and Carbosieve S-III. The sampling with the adsorption tubes was performed at ambient temperature and at -10°C. The highest concentrations were generally obtained with canisters but these results are very similar to those obtained with refrigerated multibed adsorption tubes. Both methods appear to be equivalent for most of the highly volatile hydrocarbons encountered in moderately polluted urban areas. In contrast, sampling with ambient temperature tubes provides lower concentrations. This study has also shown that K2CO3 drying efficiently removes humidity from air samples allowing the obtention of reliable concentration data on highly volatile hydrocarbons at ppbv levels. These drying tubes can easily be re-conditioned and tested for blanks and memory effects, which greatly facilitates the control of external contamination and sample cross-contamination.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bayer C.W.: 1994, J. Chromatogr. Sci. 32, 312–316.
Berkley R.E., Varns J.L., Pleil J.: 1991, Environ. Sci. Technol. 25, 1439–1444.
Boudrier H.: 1994, Measure et comportement des atmospheres naturelles: Experimentation à la Pointe de Bretagne. Ph.D. Thesis. Université Paris VII, 164 pages.
Brymer D.A., Ogle L.D., Jones C.J., Lewis D.L.: 1996, Environ. Sci. Technol. 30, 1188–1195.
Cao X.-L., Hewitt C.N.: 1995, J. Chromatogr. 710, 39–50.
Camel V., Caude M.: 1995, J. Chromatogr. 710, 3–19.
Farmer C.T., Milne P.J., Riemer D.D., Zika R.G.: 1994, Environ. Sci. Technol. 28, 238–245.
Gholson A.R., Storm J.F., Jayanty R.K.M., Fuerst R.G., Logan T.J., Midgett M.R.: 1989, JAPCA 39, 1210–1217.
Harsch D.E.: 1980, Atmos. Env. 14, 1105–1107.
Helmig D. and Greenberg J.P.: 1994, J. Chromatogr. 677, 123–132.
Hoffmann T.: 1995, Fresenius J. Anal. Chem. 351, 41–47.
Jayanty R.K.M.: 1989, Atmos.Env. 23, 777–783.
Kelly T.J., Callahan P.J., Pleil J., Evans G.F.: 1993, Environ. Sci. Technol. 27, 1146–1153.
McClenny W.A., Oliver K.D., Hunter Daughtrey E. Jr.: 1995, J. Air and Waste Manag. Assoc. 45, 792–800.
Michael L.C., Pellizzari E.D., Perritt R.L., Hartwell T.D., Westerdahl D., Nelson W.C.: 1990, Environ. Sci. Technol. 24, 996–1003.
Müller S. and Oehme M.: 1990, J. High Resol. Chromatogr. 13, 34–39.
Oliver K.D., Pleil J.D., McClenny W.A.: 1986, Atmos. Env. 20, 1403–1411.
Oliver K.D., Adams J.R., Daughtrey Jr. E.H., McClenny W.A., Yoong M.J., Pardee M.A., Almasi E.B., Kirshen N.A.: 1996, Environ. Sci. Technol. 30, 1939–1945.
Pankow, J.F.: 1991, Environ. Sci. Technol. 25, 123–126.
Pleil J.D. and Stroupe M.L.: 1994, J. Chromatog. 676, 399–408.
Rudolph J., Müller K.P., Koppmann R.: 1990, Anal. Chim. Acta 236, 197–211.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Castellnou, A., Gonzalez-Flesca, N. & Grimalt, J. On-site Comparison of Canister and Solid-Sorbent Trap Collection of Highly Volatile Hydrocarbons in Ambient Atmospheres. Environ Monit Assess 52, 97–106 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005835023593
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005835023593