Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) for Determination of Geosmin and 2-Methylisoborneol in Volatile Emissions from Soil Disturbance

Abstract

A method is described here for the concentration and determination of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) from the gaseous phase, with translation to field collection and quantification from soil disturbances in situ. The method is based on the use of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers for adsorption of volatile chemicals from the vapor phase, followed by desorption into a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) for analysis. The use of a SPME fiber allows simple introduction to the GC-MS without further sample preparation. Several fiber sorbent types were studied and the 50/30 micrometer DVB/CAR/PDMS was the best performer to maximize the detected peak areas of both analytes combined. Factors such as extraction temperature and time along with desorption temperature and time were explored with respect to analyte recovery. An extraction temperature of 30 deg C for 10 min, with a desorption temperature of 230 deg C for 4 min was best for the simultaneous analysis of both geosmin and 2-MIB without complete loss of either one. The developed method was used successfully to measure geosmin and 2-MIB emission from just above disturbed and undisturbed soils, indicating that this method detects both compounds readily from atmospheric samples. Both geosmin and 2-MIB were present as background concentrations in the open air, while disturbed soils emitted much higher concentrations of both compounds. Surprisingly, 2-MIB was always detected at higher concentrations than geosmin, indicating that a focus on its detection may be more useful for soil emission monitoring and more sensitive to low levels of soil disturbance.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2021
Accession Number
AD1151706

Entities

People

  • Donald M. Cropek
  • Kyoo D. Jo
  • Markus Bauer
  • Morgan W. Conrady
  • Ryan R. Busby

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemistry
  • Desorption
  • Detection
  • Ecology
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Gas Chromatography
  • Mass Spectrometers
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Monitoring
  • Organic Compounds
  • Solid Phases
  • Sorption
  • Spectrometers
  • Spectrometry
  • Standards
  • Vapor Phases
  • Volatile Organic Compounds

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry