LABORATORY EVALUATION OF POLYURETHANE FOAM GRANULAR ADSORBENT SANDWICH CARTRIDGES FOR COLLECTING CHLOROPHENOLS FROM AIR

Adsorbent traps containing 5-6 g of Tenax-GC sandwiched between two 3-cm-thick polyurethane foam (PUF) plugs were used to collect six di- to tetrachlorophenols from 285-380 m3 of analyte-spiked air. Laboratory experiments were conducted by vaporizing known quantities of chlorophenols into a clean airstream for sampling by a General Metal Works PS-1 high-volume air sampler at 20-degrees-C. Chlorophenols were Soxhlet extracted from the adsorbent traps, derivatized with acetic anhydride, and analyzed by gas chromatography using electron capture detection. Collection efficiencies, determined by mass balance of the quantities introduced and recovered, averaged 63-96% for individual compounds, with an overall mean of 83%. The PUF-Tenax traps should be suitable for ambient air sampling at air volumes up to at least 380 M3 with air temperatures less-than-or-equal-to 20-degrees-C.