Sensitive and Specific In-Situ Sensor for Monitoring Contaminated Water

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2010 · Analytical Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/ac100162d· OSTI ID:1122634

Du, Yongzhai ^[1]; Watson, David B ^[1]; Whitten, William B ^[1]; Li, Haiyang ^[1]; Nazarov, Erkinjun ^[2]; Xu, Jun ^[1]

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1. ORNL
2. Sionex Corp

We report on the development of a high-sensitivity and high-specificity sensor, combining membrane extraction, pre-concentration, and gas-chromatographic differential mobility spectrometry (GC/DMS), for in situ detection of chlorinated hydrocarbons in water. Direct in-situ detection was achieved by membrane conversion of aqueous analyte to vapor, followed by vapor spectroscopy using GC/DMS analyzer. The limit of detection (LOD) reaches 0.37 parts per billion in volume (ppbv), or 0.54 ug/L, for aqueous trichloroethylene (TCE) and 1.6 ug/L for perchloroethylene (PCE) by incorporating a preconcentrator between the membrane extraction and GC/DMS detection systems. The high specificity was achieved using two-dimensional separation parameters of GC retention time and DMS compensation voltage. The presence of co-contaminants and foreign contaminants, such as benzene, toluene, CCl4, and CHCl3 did not interfere with the identification of chlorinated hydrocarbons. This highly-sensitive and -specific sensor paves the way for developing field-deployable sensors for in-situ and real-time monitoring of chlorinated hydrocarbons in groundwater and surface water.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
• Sponsoring Organization: ORNL work for others
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1122634
• Journal Information: Analytical Chemistry, Journal Name: Analytical Chemistry Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 82; ISSN 0003-2700
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English