New approach to resolve the humidity problem in VOC determination in outdoor air samples using solid adsorbent tubes followed by TD-GC–MS

Abstract

This study describes the humidity effect in the sampling process by adsorbent tubes followed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (TD-GC–MS) for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air samples and evaluates possible solutions to this problem. Two multi-sorbent bed tubes, Tenax TA/Carbograph 1TD and Carbotrap B/Carbopack X/Carboxen 569, were tested in order to evaluate their behaviour in the presence of environmental humidity. Humidity problems were demonstrated with carbon-based tubes, while Tenax-based tubes did not display any influence. Silica gel, a molecular sieve and CaCl2 were tried out as materials for drying tube to remove air humidity, placed prior to the sampling tube to prevent water from entering. The pre-tubes filled with 0.5g of CaCl2 showed the best results with respect to their blanks, the analytes recoveries and their ability to remove ambient humidity. To avoid the possible agglomeration of CaCl2 during the sampling process in high relative humidity atmospheres, 0.1g of diatomaceous earth were mixed with the desiccant agent. The applicability of the CaCl2 pre-tube as drying agent prior to Carbotrap B/Carbopack X/Carboxen 569 tubes was tested in urban and industrial locations with samplings of air at high relative humidity. In addition, the results were compared with those obtained using Tenax TA/Carbograph 1TD tubes.