Although a range of portable and mobile instruments are commercially available for real-time monitoring of volatile organic carbon (VOC) mixtures, there is a rising demand for analytical instruments that provide greater portability and reliability in addition to higher specificity, sensitivity, and shorter response time.  The performance characteristics of a newly developed Nanova® portable gas chromatograph – photoionization detector (GC-PID) which includes an automatic preconcentrator and a 6m capillary column with at-column heater was evaluated for rapid real-time detection in laboratory and field situations.  A mixture of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) vapors with concentrations ranging from 0.9 to 900 ppbv was sampled at 1 mL/min for 0.5 to 5 min.  The GC separation was completed in less than 2 min, and the retention time reproducibility of less than 1.5% RSD was achieved.  The variation in peak area was satisfactory and less than 6% RSD for six BTEX compounds analyzed during multiple days. Calibration with good linearity (R<sup>2</sup>&gt;0.99) was obtained for all BTEX, and the detection limits were in the sub-ppbv levels.  The portable GC-PID was employed to examine the environmental risks of using recycled materials in construction applications including the use of recycled processing agents as asphalt pavement material.  Hot-mix-asphalt was produced using the modified binders, and BTEX compounds in fume was monitored onsite during processing of two types of asphalt cement binders containing crumb rubber modifier with or without used motor oil.<br/>

Performance evaluation of a new portable GC with photoionization detector for on-site real-time monitoring of environmental VOC

256th National Meeting (2018)

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