Determination of Gasoline Residues on Carpets by SPME–GC-MS Technique

Detection of gasoline residues on household materials up to 60 days: Comparison of two extinguishing methods

Detection of ignitable liquid residues in a fire scene is essential for determining the origin. Although studies are focused on the detection of residues of accelerants depending on time or matrices, the time-dependent effect of the water extinguishing method in a fire has not yet been investigated. Experimental studies are needed to determine how long ignitable liquid residues can be detected in water-extinguished evidence compared to the smothering method. In this study, the effects of both extinguishing methods on gasoline residues were investigated after burning of carpet, sofa fabric, tablecloth, and towel by Solid Phase Micro Extraction- Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS) technique. Four mandatory and 14 additional compounds were considered to prove the gasoline residue after the monitoring of possible interferences. Results showed that gasoline residues on the burned carpet and sofa fabric samples were successfully detected in both extinguishing methods up to 60 and 30 days after fire exposure, respectively due to multi-layered structures of related substrates. Additionally, the prolonged detection time of the water-extinguishing method made it particularly beneficial for single-layered products like tablecloths, where gasoline residues were found after an hour in this substrate. This is the first study investigating the effects of the extinguishing methods depending on time for textile products, which are the most used materials in houses. In addition, the fact that acrylamide-containing sofa fabric was investigated for the first time and that gasoline residues in carpet samples can be detected up to 60 days makes this study stand out.

Carbon nanotubes-assisted solid-phase microextraction for the extraction of gasoline in fire debris samples

Gasoline is one of the most encountered ignitable liquids (IL) in fire debris analysis. The extraction of gasoline from fire debris samples presents challenges due to the complicated nature of multicomponent mixtures. This research work proposed a novel carbon nanotube-assisted solid phase microextraction (CNT-SPME) fiber coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to determine gasoline residues for fire debris analysis. The CNT-SPME fiber was prepared by a sequential coating of polydopamine, epoxy, and CNTs on a stainless-steel wire. The extraction capabilities of the CNT-SPME fiber for gasoline and its major aromatic groups (xylenes, alkylbenzenes, indanes, and naphthalenes) from neat and spiked samples were promising, with linear dynamic ranges of 0.4-12.5 and 3.1-12.5 µg 20-mL^-1 headspace vial, respectively. The average relative standard deviations and accuracies for all concentration ranges in this work were lower than 15%. The relative recovery of the CNT-SPME fiber for all aromatic groups ranged from 28 ± 3% to 59 ± 2%. Additionally, the CNT-SPME fiber showed a higher selectivity for the naphthalenes group in gasoline, as indicated by the experimental outcome using a pulsed thermal desorption process of the extracts. We envision the nanomaterial-based SPME offers promising opportunities for extracting and detecting other ILs to support fire investigation.

Research progress on interference in the identification of accelerants in a fire scene

火灾是影响公共安全最为常见的灾害之一,而放火更是严重威胁人民群众生命财产安全,属于典型的暴力犯罪。犯罪嫌疑人为了达到有效快速放火的目的,往往使用助燃剂实施放火,因而助燃剂的检验鉴定对于认定火灾性质起着至关重要的作用。然而火场情况复杂,容易对助燃剂物证检验鉴定产生较大干扰。在火灾发生发展的过程中,火场高温热环境会作用于已形成的助燃剂燃烧残留物,造成助燃剂的特征组分发生不同程度地挥发、热解等变化,从而影响其检出;同时火灾现场存在的大量石油化工产品,其燃烧/热解产物与常见的助燃剂存在相似甚至相同的特征组分,对判断现场是否存在助燃剂有着很大干扰;而在火灾扑灭之后,助燃剂燃烧残留物在火灾现场还会受到常温环境中光照、压力、通风等因素的共同作用发生物理挥发,其特征组分的质量分数会随之发生下降从而对助燃剂鉴定产生影响;特别地,土壤类物证因土壤中有着不计其数的微生物,它们会使存在于土壤中的助燃剂特征组分发生降解,导致助燃剂组分的减少或缺失,严重影响助燃剂鉴定的准确性。该文从火场热环境、基质干扰、风化效应以及微生物效应4个方面梳理了火场条件对助燃剂检验鉴定干扰的研究现状,重点介绍了火场热环境、橡胶及其制品作为典型基质对汽油检验鉴定影响的新成果,同时指出现阶段此领域研究的不足,并对研究方向进行了展望,旨在为火场助燃剂物证检验鉴定提供参考。

Effect of kerosene combustion atmosphere on the mild steel oxide layer

In arson cases, accelerants were usually used by criminals to achieve the purpose of rapid arson. Therefore, fire investigators aim to determine whether accelerants was used in the fire scene. Metallic material has to react with corrosive gas around it at high temperature and the oxidation products may store the information of reactants. Accelerants present in fire scenes impart some oxidative characteristics on metallic materials. The aim of this work is to figure out the possibility to identify the presence of accelerant in a fire according to the oxidation patterns of metallic material. This paper researched the oxidation behavior of mild steel at high temperature in a simulated flame environment. The surface morphological and cross-sectional microstructural features of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffractions, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis after oxidation. The carbon in the combustion atmosphere had a carburizing effect on the metal oxide layer. It was mostly C–C, C–O and C=O of organic matter could be used as in fire investigation. Various oxidizing atmosphere composite systems promote the formation of metal oxide layers. And bidirectional oxidation mode in the oxide layer further accelerates the oxidation rate. The (wustite) FeO phase was not found in the oxide layer because of the strong oxidation of the combustion atmosphere. These results offer complementary information in fire characteristics, which combining the characterization of surface scale with traditional chemical analysis of recovering ignitable liquid residues from fire debris are expected to offer crucial information for determining the presence of combustion accelerants at a fire scene.

Forensic investigation of arson residue by infrared and Raman spectroscopy: From conventional to non-destructive techniques

Arson can result in highly challenging and complicated crime scenes. Much physical evidence undergoes chemical degradation because of the destructive nature of fire, while accelerants either completely burn or evaporate, and may be present in traces within any of the decomposed materials. To identify the original material and the accelerant involved, it is necessary to use advanced analytical techniques. Gas chromatography, with different detectors, is one of the most frequently used instruments in fire debris and accelerant analysis. Among other instruments, capillary electrophoresis and laser-induced thermal desorption Fourier transform mass spectrometry are two major contributors. Vibrational spectroscopy, including infrared absorption and Raman scattering, is one of the major non-destructive tools for the analysis of evidence because of its advantages over other spectroscopic techniques. Most studies involving vibrational spectroscopy (i.e. infrared and Raman spectroscopy) have focused on the identification of commonly found household materials, while very few studies have considered the identification of ignitable liquids. This article reviews studies based on an analysis of fire debris and accelerants by vibrational spectroscopic techniques and considers the limitations and future perspectives of arson investigations in forensic science.

Sample preparation for the analysis of fire debris - Past and present

Identification of ignitable liquids from fire debris is such a major part of an arson investigation that much time and effort has gone into advancing sample preparation techniques to capture complicated and unexpected hydrocarbon compounds. Advancements in sample preparation have been made in order to account for biodegradation of commonly used accelerants, rarely encountered compounds, such as vegetable oils, biodiesel, and alcohols. Improvements have also been made to manage interference from the sample matrix, particularly with regards to new materials. This paper is a review of the sample preparation techniques that are foundational to fire debris analysis as well as recent advances. Also explored are modifications to the traditional sample preparation methods to accommodate the analysis of environmental samples (soil and water), and the presence of vegetable oils and biofuels on the fire scene.