Performance of Aged Versus New Glass-Lined Canisters and Tedlar Bags In the Analysis of Reduced Sulfur Species - #104

摘要

The analysis of reduced sulfur compounds in whole air samples has posed significant analytical challenges partly due to the loss of sulfur compounds during the collection and transport of samples to the laboratory. Advances in sampling media have produced glass-lined canisters (Silonite~(TM) and SilcoCan~(TM)) that have demonstrated the stability of reduced sulfur species from several days up to several weeks. However, these holding time studies evaluated glass-lined canisters that are new; therefore, they did not take into account changes in the surface of the canister as it aged. This paper compares the performance of aged glass-lined canisters versus new glass-lined canisters, as well as Tedlar bags. The performance of the three types of sampling media was measured using two different sulfur test mixes: one consisting of carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, and methyl mercaptan, and a second test mix consisting of a twenty compound sulfur mix. The short-list test mix allowed for a fast-analysis by GC/SCD, while the long-list test mix allowed for a more comprehensive evaluation of sulfur species in the three media types. This paper will describe the methodology used to evaluate the media performance, report the findings, draw conclusions, and recommend areas of further study.