DEVELOPMENT OF CALIBRATION GAS MIXTURES (CARBON DIOXIDE AND OXYGEN IN NITROGEN MATRIX) AT A TYPICAL CONCENTRATION RANGE OF MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING

Measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), and nitrogen (N2) concentration in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) food is critical to be carried out by the food industry. A slight variation in concentrations of CO2, O2, and N2 in food packaging may have a significant impact on product quality and safety for human health. Accurate and reliable measurement of CO2, O2, and N2 concentrations in food packaging is crucial, and it can only be achieved by calibrating the gas analyzer. This study aimed to develop gas mixtures for the calibration of CO2, O2, and N2 gas analyzers at a typical concentration range of modified atmosphere packaging. The calibration gas mixtures were prepared gravimetrically by following ISO 6142. The concentration ranges of CO2, O2, and N2 for calibration gas mixtures were set at 9-19% mol/mol, 1-5% mol/mol, and 74-88% mol/mol, respectively. Each parent gas was identified for its impurities using gas chromatography with a pulsed discharge helium ionization detector (GC-PDHID). The compositions of CO2, O2, and N2 in the mixtures were verified by evaluating the internal consistency within the prepared gas mixtures using gas chromatography with a thermal conductivity detector (GC-TCD). The short term stability of the prepared gas mixtures was evaluated using an equal division method. The result showed that good internal consistency was achieved between the gravimetrical and GC’s verification values, having linear regression coefficient (R2) ≥ 0.999. The t-test result has shown that CO2 has better short term stability than O2 and N2. In conclusion, the developed calibration gas mixtures at a typical concentration range of modified atmosphere packaging have shown satisfying results for CO2 component. However, further evaluation is still required to minimize the instability of O2 and N2 components.

Comparability of calibration strategies for measuring mercury concentrations in gas emission sources and the atmosphere

A primary mercury gas standard was developed at VSL to establish an SI-traceable reference point for mercury concentrations at emission and background levels in the atmosphere. The majority of mercury concentration measurements are currently made traceable to the empirically determined vapour pressure of mercury. The primary mercury gas standard can be used for the accurate and precise calibration of analytical systems used for measuring mercury concentrations in air. It has been especially developed to support measurements related to ambient air monitoring (1 ng m−3–2 ng m−3), indoor and workplace related mercury concentration levels according to health standards (from 50 ng m−3 upwards) as well as to stationary source emissions (from 1 µg m−3 upwards). The primary mercury gas standard is based on diffusion according to ISO 6154-8. Calibration gas mixtures are obtained by combining calibrated mass flows of nitrogen and air through a generator holding diffusion cells, containing elemental mercury. In this paper, we present the results of comparisons between the primary standard and mercury calibration methods maintained by NPL, a National Metrology Institute (NMI), and JSI, a Designated Institute (DI). The calibration methods currently used at NPL and JSI are based on the bell-jar calibration apparatus in combination with the Dumarey equation or a NIST reference material. For the comparisons, mercury was sampled on sorbent traps to obtain transfer standards with levels between 2 ng and 1000 ng with an expanded uncertainty not exceeding 3 % (k = 2). The comparisons performed show that the results for the primary standard and the NIST reference material are comparable, whereas a difference of −8 % exists between results traceable to the primary standard and the Dumarey equation.