Abstract
The measurement of VOSCs(volatile organic sulfur compounds) in the air is nowadays a very important environmental research field. It is, however, very difficult because the concentration of the VOSC in ambient air is usually very low and the high reactivity makes it difficult to keep in container without loss of recovery. In this study, sampling method with cryogenic preconcentration is evaluated for analysis of atmospheric VOSC such as $CH_3SH,\;CH_3CH_2SH,\;CH_3SCH_3,\;CS_2,\;CH_3SSCH_3,\;CH_3SCH_2SCHA_3,\;and\;C_2H_5SSC_2H_5$ analyzed by GC-MS or GC-FID. Repeatabilities of measurement accompanied with preconcentration for 3-successive runs were in the range of 0.2~1.0% as a relative standard deviation. Stabilities up to 13 days were measured in 6 L canister and 10 L tedlar bag filled with VOSCs in ppb level. Higher stability was observed in tedlar bag as compared to canister with glass coated inner walls, and thiol compounds show dramatic losses in canister within 2~3 days. It is found that recovery over 70% was obtained in a week for all tested VOSCs when the compounds from ambient air matrix were stored in tedlar bag. It is also found that the stabilities of VOSCs are depending on humidity and coexisting compounds in matrix gas due to sample adsorption onto inner surface and reactivity. The results indicate the possibility and limitations of VOSC analysis in ambient air using container sampling method with cryogenic preconcentration.
