Monitoring effluents from an air toxic control device using continuous nonmethane organic carbon analyzer

Nonmethane organic carbon (NMOC) is a measure of total organic carbon other than methane in an air emission. It is a convenient way of expressing total organic emissions in terms of carbon. Development of a continuous NMOC (referred to as the C-NMOC) analyzer was recently reported. A microsorbent trap called the microtrap is the key component of this instrument. The microtrap selectively concentrates the organic compounds and then desorbs them as an injection pulse for NMOC detection. The process of concentration and injection is quite fast, and the analysis can be carried out every few seconds to every few minutes. The characteristics of this instrument as applied to on-line monitoring are presented in this article. Its applicability is demonstrated by monitoring emissions from an air toxic control device. The instrument performed well with the oxygenated, chlorinated, aliphatic, and aromatic hydrocarbons in this study. The instrument also demonstrated linear response and high sensitivity.