(2019) Environmental Research_Utilization of activated carbon as an effective replacement for a commercialized three-bed sorbent (Carbopack) to quantitate aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air

Lee Y.-S., Maitlo H.A., Kim K.-H., Kwon E.E., Lee M.-H., Kim J.-C., Song H.-N., Szulejko J.E.

(Academic Press Inc.) Environmental Research ISSN: 139351 Vol.179 Issue. Article No.108802 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2019.108802

The potential use of activated carbon (AC) as an inexpensive and effective alternative sorbent material in thermal desorption is presented and validated for the analysis of aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, m-xylene, and styrene (BTXS) in air. The optimum desorption conditions of an AC sampling tube (2 mg AC bed) were determined and compared with a commercial three-bed (Carbopack; C + B + X) tube sampler as a reference. The AC sampler exhibited good linearity (R² > 0.99) and reproducibility (RSE of 2.38 ± 0.21%) for BTXS analysis. The AC tube sampler showed good storability (up to 3 d) and excellent recyclability (up to 50 cycles). An analysis of BTXS in ambient air showed excellent agreement between AC and CBX (bias < 5%). The 1% breakthrough volume values for 2 mg AC, when tested at 100 ppb of benzene as a sole component or in a BTXS mixture, were 10,000 or 5000 L g⁻¹, respectively. The results of this study support the performance of AC as a suitable medium for sampling VOCs as reliable as high-cost commercial sorbent products. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.

This research acknowledges the support by the R&D Center for Green Patrol Technologies through the R&D for Global Top Environmental Technologies funded by the Ministry of Environment (Grant No: 2018001850001 ) as well as by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, & Future Planning (Grant No: 2016R1E1A1A01940995 ).