Combining Preconcentration of Air Samples with Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy for Detection of Trace Volatile Organic Compounds in the Atmosphere

Introduction. Lack of studies proving or denying passive smoker health risks caused by electronic cigarettes prevented from introducing restrictive measures and considering them to be tobacco products as early as in 2013. Indoor air pollution by consumed nicotine-containing products in extra-low concentrations which could be detected using high-tech lab mass-spectrometry techniques was the object of study. Material and methods. “Unknown composition” air sampling was carried out in the process of simulation tests. Three types of tobacco products were used in the tests: tobacco cigarettes, electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS), battery-powered heat-not-burn tobacco cigarettes (IQOS) with tobacco sticks. “Unknown composition” air samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds, medium volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (total and separately 16 priority PAHs, inorganic elements (Si, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni). Sampling was carried out three times a day on separate days for each type of product and control, a total of 12 “unknown composition” air samples being collected. The study of “unknown composition” air samples was carried out at the accredited chemical-analytical center “Arbitrazh” of the D.I. Mendeleev Institute of Metrology (accreditation certificate РОСС RU.0001.510650).Results. A total number of 115 chemicals were determined, and among them, substances significant concentrations of which are most likely related to tobacco or nicotine consumption, as compared to control, and depend on the type of nicotine-containing product, were identified. Statistically significant concentration excess (р≤ 0.05), as compared to control, was seen for 27 chemicals in indoor air polluted by-products of consumed tobacco cigarettes; when using electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) the excess (р≤ 0.05) was shown for 2 chemicals, i.e.: acenaphthylene and benz(a)perene, and when using heat-not-burn tobacco products (IQOS) the excess of studied chemical concentrations in comparison with control was not reported.Conclusion. Findings of comparative analysis of “unknown composition” air sampling give evidence that a much larger number of harmful chemicals at significantly exceeded concentrations (р≤ 0.05), including those causing human health risks, is released when smoking cigarettes, as compared to using ENDS or IQOS.

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Characterization, sources and reactivity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Seoul and surrounding regions during KORUS-AQ

Elem Sci Anth ◽

10.1525/elementa.434 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Isobel J. Simpson ◽

Donald R. Blake ◽

Nicola J. Blake ◽

Simone Meinardi ◽

Barbara Barletta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Volatile Organic Compounds ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Carbonyl Sulfide ◽

Fast Response ◽

Vehicle Exhaust ◽

Air Samples ◽

Range Transport ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Research Aircraft

The Korea-United States Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ) took place in spring 2016 to better understand air pollution in Korea. In support of KORUS-AQ, 2554 whole air samples (WAS) were collected aboard the NASA DC-8 research aircraft and analyzed for 82 C1–C10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using multi-column gas chromatography. Together with fast-response measurements from other groups, the air samples were used to characterize the VOC composition in Seoul and surrounding regions, determine which VOCs are major ozone precursors in Seoul, and identify the sources of these reactive VOCs. (1) The WAS VOCs showed distinct signatures depending on their source origins. Air collected over Seoul had abundant ethane, propane, toluene and n-butane while plumes from the Daesan petrochemical complex were rich in ethene, C2–C6 alkanes and benzene. Carbonyl sulfide (COS), CFC-113, CFC-114, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and 1,2-dichloroethane were good tracers of air originating from China. CFC-11 was also elevated in air from China but was surprisingly more elevated in air over Seoul. (2) Methanol, isoprene, toluene, xylenes and ethene were strong individual contributors to OH reactivity in Seoul. However methanol contributed less to ozone formation based on photochemical box modeling, which better accounts for radical chemistry. (3) Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and other techniques indicated a mix of VOC source influences in Seoul, including solvents, traffic, biogenic, and long-range transport. The solvent and traffic sources were roughly equal using PMF, and the solvents source was stronger in the KORUS-AQ emission inventory. Based on PMF, ethene and propene were primarily associated with traffic, and toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes with solvents, especially non-paint solvents for toluene and paint solvents for ethylbenzene and xylenes. This suggests that VOC control strategies in Seoul could continue to target vehicle exhaust and paint solvents, with additional regulations to limit the VOC content in a variety of non-paint solvents.

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Differentiation of air samples with and without microbial volatile organic compounds by aspiration ion mobility spectrometry and semiconductor sensors

Building and Environment ◽

10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.03.018 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 45 (10) ◽

pp. 2184-2191 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Riikka-Marjaana Räsänen ◽

Markus Håkansson ◽

Martti Viljanen

Keyword(s):

Volatile Organic Compounds ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Ion Mobility Spectrometry ◽

Ion Mobility ◽

Air Samples ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds ◽

Semiconductor Sensors

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Novel sample preparation technique with needle-type micro-extraction device for volatile organic compounds in indoor air samples

Analytica Chimica Acta ◽

10.1016/j.aca.2012.08.014 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 746 ◽

pp. 77-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Ikuo Ueta ◽

Ayako Mizuguchi ◽

Koji Fujimura ◽

Susumu Kawakubo ◽

Yoshihiro Saito

Keyword(s):

Volatile Organic Compounds ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Preparation Technique ◽

Air Samples ◽

Needle Type ◽

Sample Preparation Technique ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Extraction Device

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An improved, automated whole air sampler and gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis system for volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-10-291-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 291-313 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Brian M. Lerner ◽

Jessica B. Gilman ◽

Kenneth C. Aikin ◽

Elliot L. Atlas ◽

Paul D. Goldan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Gas Chromatography ◽

Stainless Steel ◽

Volatile Organic Compounds ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Air Samples ◽

Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Analysis System

Abstract. Volatile organic compounds were quantified during two aircraft-based field campaigns using highly automated, whole air samplers with expedited post-flight analysis via a new custom-built, field-deployable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry instrument. During flight, air samples were pressurized with a stainless steel bellows compressor into electropolished stainless steel canisters. The air samples were analyzed using a novel gas chromatograph system designed specifically for field use which eliminates the need for liquid nitrogen. Instead, a Stirling cooler is used for cryogenic sample pre-concentration at temperatures as low as −165 °C. The analysis system was fully automated on a 20 min cycle to allow for unattended processing of an entire flight of 72 sample canisters within 30 h, thereby reducing typical sample residence times in the canisters to less than 3 days. The new analytical system is capable of quantifying a wide suite of C2 to C10 organic compounds at part-per-trillion sensitivity. This paper describes the sampling and analysis systems, along with the data analysis procedures which include a new peak-fitting software package for rapid chromatographic data reduction. Instrument sensitivities, uncertainties and system artifacts are presented for 35 trace gas species in canister samples. Comparisons of reported mixing ratios from each field campaign with measurements from other instruments are also presented.

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