Solid-phase microextraction-based midget on-site emission cell method extended to low-volatility SVOCs

Abstract

On-site semi-volatile organic compound (SVOC) source identification and gas-phase concentration at the material surface (y0) measurements are needed to model indoor exposure to harmful chemical additives emitted by building and furniture materials. The solid-phase microextraction (SPME)-based midget on-site emission cell (MOSEC) method is a passive device developed to address these needs. However, converting the sampled SVOC amount into the gas-phase concentration in the MOSEC is the critical step because an atmosphere with a known SVOC gas-phase concentration is required to calibrate the method. In this work, an experimental setup was designed to generate atmospheres containing SVOCs. These atmospheres were transferred to a MOSEC. By design, the MOSEC could be isolated to perform passive SPME sampling. The analyte concentration was monitored by active sampling on sorbent tubes as a reference method. Calibration was then performed following Fick's first law of diffusion under steady state conditions: several SPME samplings of different exposure times were carried out in the MOSEC. The method was applied to the measurement of y0 of tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP), triphenyl phosphate (TPP), 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP) and 1,2-cyclohexane-dicarboxylic acid, dinonyl ester (DINCH), emitted by a polyurethane (PU) foam and a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) furniture covering. The performance parameters of this method were also evaluated. The results agreed with y0 values previously reported and were close to y0 values obtained using vapor pressure-based empirical relationships proposed in the literature. This work provides a simple method to calibrate SPME passive sampling methods for low to very low volatility SVOCs in air.

Verbatim author abstract reproduced from the HAL manuscript under CC BY 4.0.

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