Use of carbon adsorption traps combined with high resolution gas chromatography – mass spectrometry for the analysis of polar and non‐polar C₄‐C₁₄ hydrocarbons involved in photochemical smog formation

Abstract

Abstract A method has been developed for the collection and analysis of polar and non‐polar C 4 ‐C 14 hydrocarbons involved in the formation of photochemical smog. Enrichment of hydrocarbons from both polluted and unpolluted areas has been achieved with three‐stage traps packed with carbon adsorbents of different surface area; the use of a home‐made desorption unit employing cryofocusing then enables the determination of the compounds by HRGC‐FID. Two‐stage traps filled with graphitic carbon have been used prior to GC‐MS identification and quantitation of compounds producing overlapping peaks. The methodology has been tested in the urban area of Rome and in a pine forest, and more than 140 different compounds identified and quantitated. Many of the constituents were found to be oxygenated, either formed by photochemical reactions or of anthropogenic origin.