Estimation of unsaturated hydrocarbon pollutants in air based on selective gas chromatography with ozone.

Regular monitoring of toxic organic pollutants in air is a very important issue in environmental pollution control. Among these, unsaturated hydrocarbon pollutants (UHP) such as ethylene and beta-propylene and another 18 olefins are of prime importance. A very fast method for the individual identification of UHPs in air is proposed. This method is based on gas-chromatographic separation with selective detection of unsaturated organic compounds (UOC) and on the chemical reaction of UOC with ozone in the gas phase. In view of the mathematical model derived for this ozonation process, a comparison of FID-chromatogram and ozonogram can be carried out for identification of the contaminants. This identification can be performed without preliminary separation in the presence of the main components. The method provides a high sensitivity (< 0.005 to 0.72 mass %) and selectivity.