IMPROVEMENT IN THE USE OF CAPILLARY COLUMNS FOR AMBIENT AIR PEROXYACETYL NITRATE MONITORING

The use of the HP-1 wide bore capillary column for the ambient monitor ing of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) was found to be limited by the prese nce of a coeluting peak when the oven temperature was at 30 degrees C. Lowering the oven temperature to 10 degrees C yielded baseline resolu tion of the two peaks, in addition it increased the sensitivity in the detection of PAN by an average 55%. Lower oven temperatures in the ra nge of -50 degrees C during sample loading and initial analysis time, offered very increased sensitivity for PAN but the method lacks linear response; however at these conditions with the same chromatogram one can determine nitrogenous constituents of air as well as chlorofluoron ated compounds. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.