DEVELOPMENT OF A FULLY-AUTOMATIC MEMBRANE INLET MASS-SPECTROMETRIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR ONLINE INDUSTRIAL-WASTE WATER MONITORING

Membrane inlet mass spectrometry has been applied for continuous on-li ne waste water monitoring at a waste water purification plant of an oi l refinery. The instrumentation includes a fully automatic sample deli very system and a membrane inlet mass spectrometer. The entire system is controlled with a custom-made automation program from a remotely lo cated personal computer. Membrane inlet mass spectrometry was selected for this task since it was necessary to be able to do qualitative and quantitative analysis of the volatile organic contaminants at low con centration levels. The developed measurement system has allowed long-t erm continuous collection of qualitative and quantitative data about t he contaminants, typically BTEX compounds, of the waste water stream.