Construction of an automated gas chromatography/mass spectrometry system for the analysis of ambient volatile organic compounds with on-line internal standard calibration

A two-staged adsorption/thermal desorption GC/MS online system for monitoring volatile organic compounds

Real-time online monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air is crucial for timely and effective human health protection. Here, we developed an innovative, automated two-staged adsorption/thermal desorption gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) system for real-time online monitoring of 117 regulated volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This system comprised a sampling unit, water management trap, two-staged adsorption/thermal desorption unit, thermoelectric coolers (TECs), and a commercial GC/MS system. By implementing a micro-purge-and-trap (MP & T) step and a two-staged adsorption/thermal desorption unit, the presence of interfering substances was effectively minimized. The utilization of a heart-cutting GC, combined with a single MS detector, facilitated the precise separation and detection of 117 C₂-C₁₂ VOCs, while circumventing the identification and coelution challenges commonly associated with traditional GC-FID or GC-FID/MS methods. The performance of our newly developed online system was meticulously optimized and evaluated using standard gas mixtures. Under optimal conditions, we achieved impressive results, with R² values ≥ 0.9946 for the standard linear curves of all 117 VOCs, demonstrating a precision (RSD) ranging from 0.2% to 6.4%. When applied in the field monitoring, the concentration drifts for 10 ppbv standard gas mixtures were 0.01-5.64% within 24 h. Our study developed a system for online monitoring of 117 atmospheric VOCs with relatively high accuracy and robustness.

Adsorption and Sensing Performances of MoTe2 Monolayers Doped with Pd, Ni, and Pt for SO2 and NH3: A DFT Investigation

Density functional theory (DFT) calculation was used to study the adsorption and sensing performances of a transition metal atom (TMA) doped MoTe₂ monolayer for two industrial toxic and harmful gases, SO₂ and NH₃, in this study. The adsorption structure, molecular orbital, density of state, charge transfer, and energy band structure were applied to investigate the interaction between the gas and MoTe₂ monolayer substrate. The conductivity of the MoTe₂ monolayer film doped with TMA (Ni, Pt, Pd) is significantly improved. The original MoTe₂ monolayer has poor adsorptive ability for SO₂ and NH₃, which is physisorption, while for the TMA-doped MoTe₂ monolayer, it is significantly enhanced and the adsorption process is chemisorption. All results provide a trustworthy theoretical basis for sensors based on MoTe₂ to detect toxic and harmful gases SO₂ and NH₃. Additionally, it also provides guidance for further research on the transition metal cluster doped MoTe₂ monolayer for gas detection.

Characterization of industrial plumes of volatile organic compounds by guided sampling

Instead of manual sampling in a random way near a source area, this study used trigger sampling guided by an analyzer at a fixed site near a refinery plant to obtain the chemical composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) representative of the source. The analyzer was built in-house to measure total VOC (TVOC) levels by subtracting methane from total combustible organic compounds (TOC) with flame ionization detection. The analyzer with minute resolution provided instantaneous measurements of TVOCs to trigger canister sampling at the moments of VOC plumes in a source area. The chemical composition of the 13 trigger samples were compared with the other non-trigger samples randomly collected either within the refinery or on an urban street. All samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/flame ionization detection (GC-MS/FID) for detailed speciation. High agreement in total VOC abundance between the analyzer and GC-MS/FID indicates internal consistency of the two techniques and the robustness of the TVOC analyzer to guide sampling of VOC plumes. The trigger samples showing very high consistency in the overall composition imply that sampling at the right moments of plume arrivals can facilitate characterization of the source profiles, which can hardly be achieved by random sampling. The coupling of the fast-and-slow analytical techniques to guide sampling is proven to be an effective means to probe source characteristics.

Measurement techniques for assessing the olfactory impact of municipal sewage treatment plants

The study presents information about the measurement techniques used for the assessment of air quality in terms of the olfactory intensity resulting from the operation of municipal sewage treatment plants. Advantages and disadvantages of the measurement techniques used are presented. Sources of malodourous substance emission from sewage treatment plants were described, and the malodourous substances emitted were characterised. Trends in development of analysis and monitoring of the malodourous substances in the air were also presented.

Harmful gas recognition exploiting a CTL sensor array

In this paper, a novel cataluminescence (CTL)-based sensor array consisting of nine types of catalytic materials is developed for the recognition of several harmful gases, namely carbon monoxide, acetone, chloroform and toluene. First, the experimental setup is constructed by using sensing nanomaterials, a heating plate, a pneumatic pump, a gas flow meter, a digital temperature device, a camera and a BPCL Ultra Weak Chemiluminescence Analyzer. Then, unique CTL patterns for the four types of harmful gas are obtained from the sensor array. The harmful gases are successful recognized by the PCA method. The optimal conditions are also investigated. Finally, experimental results show high sensitivity, long-term stability and good linearity of the sensor array, which combined with simplicity, make our system a promising application in this field.

Detection of diseased plants by analysis of volatile organic compound emission

This review focuses on the detection of diseased plants by analysis of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. It includes an overview of studies that report on the impact of infectious and noninfectious diseases on these emissions and discusses the specificity of disease-induced emissions. The review also provides an overview of processes that affect the gas balance of plant volatiles, including their loss processes. These processes are considered as important because they contribute to the time-dynamic concentration profiles of plant-emitted volatiles. In addition, we describe the most popular techniques currently in use to measure volatiles emitted from plants, with emphasis on agricultural application. Dynamic sampling coupled with gas chromatography and followed by an appropriate detector is considered as the most appropriate method for application in agriculture. It is recommended to evaluate the state-of-the-art in the fields concerned with this method and to explore the development of a new instrument based on the specific needs for application in agricultural practice. However, to apply such an instrument in agriculture remains a challenge, mainly due to high costs.