Collecting Airborne Organochlorines on Polyurethane Foam: Comparison of Field Observations with a Breakthrough Model

Abstract

Polyurethane foam (PUF) is widely used for active air sampling (AAS) of gaseous semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs). PUF efficiently collects SVOCs with moderate to low volatility, but applications are limited for the more volatile SVOCs due to breakthrough from the PUF trap. The collection efficiency can be predicted by frontal chromatography theory with knowledge of several parameters: the sampled air volume, the breakthrough volume which depends on the PUF/air partition ratio (K_PA), and the number of theoretical plates (N) in the PUF trap. Here we evaluate data from two Canadian air monitoring programs in which front and back PUF traps (P1 and P2) were used to check for breakthrough, as indicated by the back/front ratio (P2/P1) of collected SVOCs. A frontal chromatography model was used to relate collection efficiency of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and α-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH) to their observed P2/P1 ratios under assumed scenarios of K_PA and N, and apparent N-values for the PUF traps were derived. Results were applied to correcting observed air concentrations of HCB for breakthrough loss. The choice of K_PA greatly influenced the adjusted air concentrations and their variation with temperature.

Collection of airborne semivolatile organic compounds by polyurethane foam (PUF) was adjusted for breakthrough loss by frontal chromatography theory and field observations of penetration through PUF traps.