Abstract
Trimellitic anhydride (TMA) is collected from air on a DM-800 (PVC-copolymer) membrane filter. The filter is extracted with methanol and the volume of the extract is reduced by evaporation; BF3/methanol is then added to the extract to form the TMA trimethyl ester. The BF3 adduct is precipitated with a combination of reagents and the supernatant solution is injected into a gas chromatograph equipped with an FID. The unknown concentration of samples is determined from a calibration curve. The range of the method is 19 to 96 µ/sample with a pooled relative standard deviation of 8%. The recovery of TMA from DM-800 filters was quantitative. This new method uses a one-step derivatization procedure and has a detection limit of 2 µg; the ester derivative is stable for at least two days and has a retention time of less than 8 minutes. This method may also be applicable to other organic anhydrides and carboxylic acids.
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