Measurements comparison of oxygenated volatile organic compounds at a rural site during the 1995 SOS Nashville Intensive

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research 1998-09, Vol.103 (D17), p.22
• Main Authors: Apel, E C, Calvert, J G, Riemer, D, Pos, W, Zika, R, Kleindienst, T E, Lonneman, W A, Fung, K, Fujita, E, Shepson, P B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0148-0227

Simultaneous measurements of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) by four independent research groups at the Youth Incorporated (YI) site during the 1995 Southern Oxidants Study Nashville Intensive, between July 4 and 30, 1995, provided a unique opportunity to compare results from different techniques. 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) coated C18 (C18(AtmAA)) and Si-Gel (Si-Gel(MTE)) cartridges were compared with each other and with two sorbent-based preconcentration gas chromatographic (GC) techniques coupled with mass spectrometric (MS) detection (GCfMS(UM) and GC/MS(PU)) or flame ionization detection GC /FID(UM). Standard mixtures of OVOCs were diluted in a flowing gas stream of humidified, purified air, both with and without addition of O3, and distributed to participant's instrumentation. The instruments sampled ambient air from a common glass manifold. Species intercompared were formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, and propanal. The C18(AtmAA) data were typically higher than the Si-Gel(MTE) data for the four intercompared compounds, and possible explanations are given. The GC/MS systems tracked each other well for acetone, but there were differences in the absolute concentration values. These results show that improvements in the accuracy and comparability of techniques should be of high priority. (Author)