Sub-ppb Level Detection of BTEX Gaseous Mixtures with a Compact Prototype GC Equipped with a Preconcentration Unit

In this work, a compact gas chromatograph prototype for near real-time benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) detection at sub-ppb levels has been developed. The system is composed of an aluminium preconcentrator (PC) filled with Basolite C300, a 20 m long Rxi-624 capillary column and a p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Micromachines (Basel) 2019-03, Vol.10 (3), p.187
Main Authors: Lara-Lbeas, Irene, Rodríguez-Cuevas, Alberto, Andrikopoulou, Christina, Person, Vincent, Baldas, Lucien, Colin, Stéphane, Le Calvé, Stéphane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorbents
Air pollution
Air quality
Aluminum
Analytical chemistry
BTEX
Chemical Sciences
Energy consumption
Environmental Sciences
Ethylbenzene
Gas chromatography
Hydrocarbons
Indoor air pollution
Indoor air quality
Laboratories
microfluidics
miniaturized gas chromatograph
Ocean, Atmosphere
Outdoor air quality
Photoionization
PID detector
preconcentrator
Prototypes
Sciences of the Universe
Toluene
Xylene
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Summary:In this work, a compact gas chromatograph prototype for near real-time benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) detection at sub-ppb levels has been developed. The system is composed of an aluminium preconcentrator (PC) filled with Basolite C300, a 20 m long Rxi-624 capillary column and a photoionization detector. The performance of the device has been evaluated in terms of adsorption capacity, linearity and sensitivity. Initially, PC breakthrough time for an equimolar 1 ppm BTEX mixture has been determined showing a remarkable capacity of the adsorbent to quantitatively trap BTEX even at high concentrations. Then, a highly linear relationship between sample volume and peak area has been obtained for all compounds by injecting 100-ppb samples with volumes ranging from 5⁻80 mL. Linear plots were also observed when calibration was conducted in the range 0⁻100 ppb using a 20 mL sampling volume implying a total analysis time of 19 min. Corresponding detection limits of 0.20, 0.26, 0.49, 0.80 and 1.70 ppb have been determined for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylenes and o-xylene, respectively. These experimental results highlight the potential applications of our device to monitor indoor or outdoor air quality.
ISSN:2072-666X
2072-666X
DOI:10.3390/mi10030187