An investigation of micro-scale sealed vessel thermal extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (MSSV-GC-MS) and micro-scale sealed vessel pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry applied to a standard reference material of an urban dust/organics

Seared vessel thermal extraction and micro-scaled sealed vessel pyrolysis c oupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TH-GC-MS and MSSV-GC-MS) we re qualitatively applied to a standard reference material of suspended urba n dust/organics (NIST Standard Reference Material 1649). Equal amounts of o rganic compounds and similar concentrations of the most volatile components were produced by both the thermal extract and MSSV techniques. However, th e MSSV analyses show notably increased levels of semi-volatile compounds an d a reduction in the unresolved complex mass (UCM) related to the higher mo lecular weight heteropolymers of the particulate. The MSSV technique appear s to be breaking down the more complex components that were previously intr actable from the particulate substrate and in so doing release lower molecu lar weight compounds which may be used as a basis for characterising this c omponent. In combination the thermal extraction and the MSSV pyrolysis prov ide an effective approach for the characterisation of PM10 organics. (C) 19 99 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.