Gas Chromatographic Determination of Aviation Gasoline and JP-4 Jet Fuel in Subsurface Core Samples

Abstract

A new gas chromatographic procedure for quantifying levels of aviation gasoline (avgas) and JP-4 jet fuel contamination in soils is described. The fuel is extracted from a small quantity of soil or subsurface material, typically about 6 g, using 3 mL of methylene chloride. The extract is analyzed by wide-bore capillary column gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Advantages of the method are (1) a short analysis time of 20 minutes, (2) the use of small amounts of solvent, (3) detection limit in the low parts-per-million range, and (4) determination of the type of fuel contamination (i.e., avgas or jet fuel) by the chromatographic pattern or “fingerprint.”