Instrumentation for quantitative analysis of volatile compounds emission at elevated temperatures. Part 1: Design and implementation

• Published in: Scientific reports 2020-05, Vol.10 (1), p.8700-8700, Article 8700
• Main Authors: Lourenço, Célia, Bergin, Sarah, Hodgkinson, Jane, Francis, Daniel, Staines, Stephen E., Saffell, John R., Walton, Christopher, Tatam, Ralph P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/301/1023/1025; 639/301/930; Air temperature; Carbon dioxide; Experimental design; Gas chromatography; Gases; Headspace; High temperature; Humanities and Social Sciences; Instrumentation; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; multidisciplinary; Nitrogen dioxide; Organic compounds; Quantitative analysis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sulfur dioxide; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65472-5

A novel suite of instrumentation for the characterisation of materials held inside an air-tight tube furnace operated up to 250 °C has been developed. Real-time detection of released gases (volatile organic compounds (VOCs), CO 2 , NO, NO 2 , SO 2 , CO and O 2 ) was achieved combining commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) gas sensors and sorbent tubes for further qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry coupled to thermal desorption (TD-GC-MS). The test system was designed to provide a controlled flow (1000 cm 3 min −1 ) of hydrocarbon free air through the furnace. The furnace temperature ramp was set at a rate of 5 °C min −1 with 10 min dwell points at 70 °C, 150 °C, 200 °C and 250 °C to allow time for stabilisation and further headspace sampling onto sorbent tubes. Experimental design of the instrumentation is described here and an example data set upon exposure to a gas sample is presented.