PNNL

Abstract

The use of a membrane inlet proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (MI-PTRMS) system was investigated for the quantitative analysis of VOCs directly from water. Compounds playing an important role in environmental, biological and health issues such as methanol, acetonitrile, acetone, dimethylsulfide (DMS), isoprene, benzene, and toluene have been analyzed both in fresh and salty water. The system shows very good sensitivity, reproducibility, and a linear response of up to five orders of magnitude. The detection limit for DMS is about 100 ppt and for methanol is about 10 ppb both in fresh and salty water. The response time of the various compounds across the membrane is on the order of a few minutes. This fast response and the fact that the PTRMS can perform absolute measurements without the necessity of calibration make the system suitable for on-line and on-site measurements of VOCs directly from water.