Automated method for short-chain aldehydes emission measurement by dynamic solid-phase microextraction on-fiber derivatization GC-MSD coupled with a flow-cell.

A novel automated method was developed to test short-chain aldehyde emissions using a chamber and a flow-cell coupled with a dynamic solid-phase microextraction (SPME) on-fiber derivatization technique. Calibration curves of short-chain aldehydes were developed for quantitation of target analytes, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and acrolein emitted from the chamber outlet. The linearity range for the aldehydes was 0.8 to 2130.0 µg/m3. The limits of quantitation (LOQ) for various aldehydes ranged from ∼0.2 - 1.9 µg/m3. By using this method, emission rate curves are measured with an automated system. Compared with a traditional 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine (DNPH)-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for aldehyde emission measurement, this method provided an automated technique to study the emission of short-chain aldehydes from multiple samples in one experiment. Furthermore, by using dynamic SPME coupled to an on-fiber derivatization technique, the repeatability and sensitivity of the method is comparable and even better than traditional techniques.