High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Major Carbonyl Compounds from Various Sources in Ambient Air

Abstract

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described that quantitates the carbonyl compounds formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone from ambient air as their 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) derivatives. Acrolein is detected and, although its precision is acceptable, it exhibits poor recovery and stability due to dimer formation. After evaluating several DNPH-coated devices for sample collection, a commercially available device is chosen because it has a high capacity and minimal contamination of these compounds. After sampling 60 L of air, the device is eluted with acetonitrile, and an aliquot of the eluant is analyzed using a reversed-phase column, ultraviolet detection, and a mobile phase gradient with tetrahydrofuran as a modifier. Acrolein and acetone are fully resolved by this chromatography. For formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone, the precision is less than 2.5% relative standard deviation, and the recoveries are greater than 82%. The responses for all analytes are linear over a 20-fold concentration range. The minimum detectable quantity for each compound is less than 3 μg/m3 for a 60-L sample. The analyses of various samples show that the amounts of these carbonyl compounds vary widely.