Chromatographic analysis of environmental samples

The newest results in the chromatographic analysis of xenobiotics present in biological and environmental matrices are compiled and the results are critically evaluated. Examples for the employment of preconcentration and pre purification technologies, gas chromatography using electron capture detection (ECD), nitrogen phosphor detector (NPD), various mass spectrometric detection methods (MS, MS/MS, etc), liquid chromatographic methodologies such as thin-layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatographic methods (HPLC), as well as electrically driven systems, are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of the various chromatographic technologies are shortly discussed and the efficacies of the methodologies are compared. Xenobiotics included in the review are volatile organic compounds (VOC), hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon-based pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated bisphenols (PCB), other polyhalogenated compounds, pesticides, etc. The application of various chromatographic methods for the determination of xenobiotics in a wide variety of biological and environmental matrices is discussed in detail.

The detailed characterisation of middle distillates is essential for a better understanding of reactions involved in refining process. Owing to higher resolution power and enhanced sensitivity, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) is a powerful tool for improving characterisation of petroleum samples. The aim of this paper is to compare GC x GC and various ASTM methods - gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) - for group type separation and detailed hydrocarbon analysis. Best features of GC x GC are demonstrated and compared to these techniques in terms of cost, time consumption and accuracy. In particular, a new approach of simulated distillation (SimDis-GC x GC) is proposed: compared to the standard method ASTM D2887 it gives unequal information for better understanding of conversion process.

The detailed characterisation of middle distillates is essential for a better understanding of reactions involved in refining process. Owing to higher resolution power and enhanced sensitivity, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC× GC) is a powerful tool for improving characterisation of petroleum samples.