Determination of volatile organic compounds in coal, fly ash and slag samples by direct thermal desorption/GC/MS

This work proposes a method for quantifying volatile organic compounds (VOC s) in coal, fly ash and slag, coming from coal-fired power stations, using direct thermal desorption coupled with gas chromatography (GC) and mass spe ctrometry (MS) detection. The described method requires practically no samp le handling and is precise and sensitive. Aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbo ns (benzene, toluene, alkylbenzes, heptane and octane) are the most abundan t compounds in these solid samples, coal samples presenting higher levels t han fly ash and slag. Other compounds (acids, ketones, aldehydes, limonene, etc.) were identified by mass spectrometry.