DETERMINATION OF ALIPHATIC-AMINES IN AIR BY MEMBRANE ENRICHMENT DIRECTLY COUPLED TO A GAS-CHROMATOGRAPH

A method is described for the determination of short-chain aliphatic amines in ambient air based on impinger sampling in dilute H2SO4, selective enrichment across a PTFE gas membrane and quantification by gas chromatography. The enrichment step is carried out in a flow system directly connected to the chromatograph. The separation is performed on a packed column with nitrogen selective detection. The enrichment per sample volume was in the range 7.3 to 8.2 mL-1 for C1-C6 amines. Detection limits were ca 3-10 nM with enrichment of a 2.9 mL liquid sample. After impinger sampling of 5 m3 air in 10 mL absorption solution, this corresponds to 0.4-0.8 ng/m3 (ca 0.2-0.5 ppt by volume) in air.