Field demonstration of portable vapor sampling in a simulated cargo container

Abstract

Screening technologies are necessary to counteract illegal trafficking through ports of entry in the United States and internationally. Here we present results from initial field testing of a recently-developed portable vapor sensing unit, portable PLOT (porous layer open tubular)-cryoadsorption. A surplus US Army bunker was used as a simulated cargo container, and four sets of experiments demonstrated the unit’s functionality in a field environment. Three chemical mixtures acted as surrogates for materials relevant to screening operations: explosives-related compounds, protein decomposition compounds, and gasoline. In this feasibility study, portable PLOT-cryoadsorption successfully collected components of each mixture in a variety of weather conditions and with short vapor collection times well suited to a field environment. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used for sample analysis.