On-site and on-line analysis of chlorinated solvents in ground water using pulse introduction membrane extraction gas chromatography (PIME-GC)

The objective of this research was to monitor the concentration of chlorinated solvents in groundwater using pulse introduction membrane extraction gas chromatography (PIME-GC) developed in our laboratory. This technique uses membrane permeation to isolate VOCs from the aqueous sample. The gas chromatography based instrument can identify different VOCs components at the ppb level. In this study, PIME-GC was used for two different applications relevant to ground water remediation. The first was site assessment, where water samples from drilled wells were analyzed on-site using the field portable instrument. The results were compared to results from parallel analysis by standard laboratory based methods. The PIME-GC was also used for continuous monitoring of influent streams at the pump and treat facility. This study showed that it was possible to carry out both types of analysis at low ppb levels using PIME-GC.