The determination of volatile organic compounds in soils using solid phase microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

✍ Scribed by James, Kevin J. ;Stack, Mary A.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 461 KB
• Volume: 19
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0935-6304
• DOI: 10.1002/jhrc.1240190908

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was applied in the development of a protocol for the analysis of a number of target organic compounds in landfill site samples. The selected analytes, including aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbous, and unsaturated compounds, were absorbed directly from a headspace sample above a soil layer onto a fused silica fiber. Following exposure, the fiber was thermally desorbed in the injection port of the gas chromatograph and eluted compounds were detected using a mass selective detector. The stability and sensitivity of the extraction technique were examined at five temperatures (22–60°C) using a 100μm polydimethylsiloxane fiber. Calibrations, using soil samples spiked with selected solvents (0.5–30 μg/g), were linear; trichloroethene (r^2^ = 0.992) and benzene (r^2^ = 0.998). SPME was applied to the examination of a municipal landfill where 8 sites were sampled, at three depths, resulting in the detection of xylene (maximum 2.8 μg/g) and a number of other non‐target organic contaminants.