Determination of ethylene glycol in workplace air by capillary column gas chromatography

Abstract

To establish the method of capillary column gas chromatography for determination of ethylene glycol in workplace air. Ethylene glycol in workplace air was collected with silicone tube, desorbed with methanol, separated with FFAP (nitroterephthalic acid-modified polyethylene glycol)capillary column, and measured with flame ionization detector. The detection limit of ethylene glycol was 0.41 mg/L, the lower limit of quantification was 1.4 mg/L, the range of measurement was 1.4~163.9 mg/L, and the minimum detectable concentration was 0.3 mg/m3 (1.5 L of air was collected as the sample). This method had a good repeatability, the relative standard deviation was 1.4%~5.2%, the average desorption efficiency was 94.4%~101.7%, and the sampling efficiency was 99.2%~100%. The penetrating capacity of 200 mg silicone was higher than 6.9 mg, and the samples could be preserved for 14 days at room temperature. The method has a low detection limit, high accuracy, and good precision, which is feasible for determination of ethylene glycol in workplace air.