Development of continuous on-line purge and trap analysis

An on-line purge and trap system for continuous monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) is presented. The purge chamber was designed for continuous extraction of VOC from water with nitrogen. The analytes were preconcentrated on a microtrap prior to analysis by GC with flame ionization detection. The microtrap served as a fast injection device for carrying out analysis at high frequency. Continuous monitoring was accomplished by performing injections at fixed intervals. This system showed high sensitivity, high precision, detection limits at the ppb level, and stable response over long periods of continuous operation. Factors affecting system performance were studied. A predictive model based on gas-liquid partitioning is also presented.