Quantitative assessment of nano-plastic aerosol particles emitted during machining of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

Focusing on the relatively unexplored presence of micro- and nano-plastic aerosol particles, this study quantitatively assessed the emission of nano-plastic particles during the machining of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) in the working environment. Measurements of aerosol particles smaller than 1 µm in size were performed by aerosol mass spectrometry. The findings revealed that concentrations of carbonous aerosol particles (organic aerosol and refractory black carbon (rBC)) were higher during working hours than during non-working hours. Positive matrix factorization identified CFRP particles as a significant source, contributing an average of approximately 30% of concentration of carbonous aerosol particles during working hours. This source apportionment was corroborated by the presence of bisphenol A and F fragments, principal components of the epoxy resins used in CFRP, and was corroborated by similarities to the carbon cluster ion distribution observed in rBC during CFRP pipe-cutting operations. Further, the particle size distribution suggested the existence of plastic aerosol particles smaller than 100 nm. This study established the method to quantitatively distinguish nano-plastic aerosol particles from other aerosol particles in high temporal resolution and these techniques are useful for accurately assessing exposure to nano-plastic aerosol particles in working environments.

Direct Gas-Phase Derivatization by Employing Tandem µ-Reactor-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry: Case Study of Trifluoroacetylation of 4,4'-Methylenedianiline.

Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) is a promising technique allowing the rapid characterization of the polymer structure and additives of microgram-scale plastics. However, the Py-GC/MS analysis of polymers with urethane bonds is challenging because they produce highly reactive pyrolyzates such as amines and isocyanates polymerizing in the GC column, which limits the efforts to elucidate the pyrolysis mechanism and plastic characterization by online GC analysis. Herein, a novel pyrolysis-gas-phase derivatization-GC/MS (Py-GPD-GC/MS) technique was developed, allowing the pyrolysis of polymers and the subsequent direct gas-phase derivatization of pyrolyzates, employing a modified tandem µ-reactor-GC/MS system. This work conducted the gas-phase trifluoroacetylation of 4,4'-methylenedianiline (MDA), which is one of the major polyurethane (PU) pyrolyzates, using N-methyl-bis-trifluoroacetamide (MBTFA) as a derivatization agent. The trifluoroacetylation gas-phase reaction was monitored by in situ GC/MS analysis and the effects of derivatization conditions were investigated. The highest MDA conversion observed was 65.6 area %. Furthermore, the sequential PU pyrolysis and direct trifluoroacetylation of PU pyrolyzates in the first µ-reactor and second µ-reactor, respectively, were successfully operated, achieving the inhibited polymerization and detection of trifluoroacetylated derivatives. Thus, the Py-GPD-GC/MS method has a significant potential to be applied for other combinations of pyrolyzates and derivatization reactions, enabling deeper characterization of plastics producing highly reactive pyrolyzates that cannot be accurately analyzed by conventional Py-GC/MS analysis.

Quantitative Analysis of Red Phosphorus in Polypropylene by Evolved Gas Analysis Mass Spectrometry.

Quantitative analysis of red phosphorus in polypropylene was studied using a temperature programmable pyrolyzer in combination with a mass spectrometer. Evolved gas analysis (EGA) profiles were obtained by continuous measurements of evolved gases from a sample while heating the sample at a constant heating rate. During heating of the sample, red phosphorus sublimates into P4 molecules, which have characteristic ions (m/z 31, 62, 93 and 124). Red phosphorus in polypropylene was determined from the m/z 62 ion peak area of the EGA profile with good reproducibility. The determined value was close to the value of original formulation and to the one determined by pyrolysis-GC/MS.

Selective phenol recovery via simultaneous hydrogenation/dealkylation of isopropyl- and isopropenyl-phenols employing an H2 generator combined with tandem micro-reactor GC/MS.

The pyrolysis of bisphenol A (BPA), an essential process ingredient used in industry and many everyday life products, helps produce low-industrial-demand chemicals such as isopropenyl- and isopropyl-phenols (IPP and iPrP). In this study, tandem micro-reactor gas chromatography/mass spectrometry combined with an H2 generator (H2-TR-GC/MS) was employed for the first time to investigate the selective recovery of phenol via simultaneous hydrogenation/dealkylation of IPP and iPrP. After investigating the iPrP dealkylation performances of several zeolites, we obtained full iPrP conversion with over 99% phenol selectivity using the Y-zeolite at 350 °C. In contrast, when applied to IPP, the zeolite acid centres caused IPP polymerisation and subsequent IPP-polymer cracking, resulting in many byproducts and reduced phenol selectivity. This challenge was overcome by the addition of 0.3 wt% Ni on the Y-zeolite (0.3Ni/Y), which enabled the hydrogenation of IPP into iPrP and subsequent dealkylation into phenol (full IPP conversion with 92% phenol selectivity). Moreover, the catalyst deactivation and product distribution over repetitive catalytic use were successfully monitored using the H2-TR-GC/MS system. We believe that the findings presented herein could allow the recovery of phenol-rich products from polymeric waste with BPA macro skeleton.

Reliable radiosynthesis of 4-[10B]borono-2-[18F]fluoro-L-phenylalanine with quality assurance for boron neutron capture therapy-oriented diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to establish a reliable and routine method for the preparation of 4-[10B]borono-2-[18F]fluoro-L-phenylalanine (L-[18F]FBPA) for boron neutron capture therapy-oriented diagnosis using positron emission tomography. METHODS: To produce L-[18F]FBPA by electrophilic fluorination of 4-[10B]borono-L-phenylalanine (L-BPA) with [18F]acetylhypofluorite ([18F]AcOF) via [18F]F2 derived from the 20Ne(d,α)18F nuclear reaction, several preparation parameters and characteristics of L-[18F]FBPA were investigated, including: pre-irradiation for [18F]F2 production, the carrier F2 content in the Ne target, L-BPA-to-F2 ratios, separation with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using 10 different eluents, enantiomeric purity, and residual trifluoroacetic acid used as the reaction solvent by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The activity yields and molar activities of L-[18F]FBPA (n = 38) were 1200 ± 160 MBq and 46-113 GBq/mmol, respectively, after deuteron-irradiation for 2 h. Two 5 min pre-irradiations prior to [18F]F2 production for 18F-labeling were preferable. For L-[18F]FBPA synthesis, 0.15-0.2% of carrier F2 in Ne and L-BPA-to-F2 ratios > 2 were preferable. HPLC separations with five of the 10 eluents provided injectable L-[18F]FBPA without any further formulation processing, which resulted in a synthesis time of 32 min. Among the five eluents, 1 mM phosphate-buffered saline was the eluent of choice. The L-[18F]FBPA injection was sterile and pyrogen-free, and contained very small amounts of D-enantiomer (< 0.1% of L-[18F]FBPA), L-BPA (< 1% of L-FBPA), and trifluoroacetic acid (< 0.5 ppm). CONCLUSIONS: L-[18F]FBPA injection was reliably prepared by the electrophilic fluorination of L-BPA with [18F]AcOF followed by HPLC separation with 1 mM phosphate-buffered saline.

On-line Analysis of Catalytic Reaction Products Using a High-Pressure Tandem Micro-reactor GC/MS.

When a GC/MS system is coupled with a pressurized reactor, the separation efficiency and the retention time are directly affected by the reactor pressure. To keep the GC column flow rate constant irrespective of the reaction pressure, a restrictor capillary tube and an open split interface are attached between the GC injection port and the head of a GC separation column. The capability of the attached modules is demonstrated for the on-line GC/MS analysis of catalytic reaction products of a bio-oil model sample (guaiacol), produced under a pressure of 1 to 3 MPa.

Comparative study of thermal desorption and solvent extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis for the quantification of phthalates in polymers.

For the quantitative analysis of phthalates in polymers, a thermal desorption (TD)-GC-MS method was compared with solvent extraction (SE)-GC-MS methods which require the long pretreatment procedures using large amount of harmful organic solvents. Calibration curves of TD-GC-MS showed good linearity (r(2)>0.9997) and low method detection limit (<30mg/kg with 9.0% RSD). Quantification results for three kinds of test phthalate polymer samples (test PTPSs) showed an RSD below 7.4% and acceptable recoveries (78.3-117.4%) as in the standard method of International Electrotechnical Commission. Even in a sample with a high concentration of phthalates (PTPS #3), the method also showed good recovery with low RSD values. The TD-GC-MS results were comparable with those results by SE-GC-MS methods, indicating that TD-GC-MS method also can be used for the quantification of phthalates in polymers. The average recovery (92-103%) and RSD (<20%) values obtained from international inter-laboratory study for TD-GC-MS performed in six laboratories also indicated that TD-GC-MS can be used as an international standard method for the quantification of phthalates in polymers.

Characterization of soil organic matter with different degrees of humification using evolved gas analysis-mass spectrometry.

Evolved gas analysis-mass spectrometry (EGA-MS) provides a direct connection between the pyrolyzer and mass spectrometer through a deactivated capillary tube, and provides both a thermal profile relating to the differential thermogravimetric curve of the sample and a mass spectrum of evolved gas from the sample. In this study, EGA-MS was performed to obtain thermal profiles and identify the pyrolysis products of 12 humic acids (HAs) with different degrees of humification extracted from 5 Andisols, 3 Entisols, and 3 Inceptisols, as well as soil samples. All HAs were thermally decomposed gradually over a wide temperature range (100-700°C), and the EGA curves showed four peaks and shoulders at around 250, 350, 450, and 550°C. The peaks at around 550°C were observed for the Andisol HAs only. Carboxyl groups, carbohydrates, and short chain alkanes and alkenes of the HAs and bulk soil samples evolved at a relatively low-temperature region (200-300°C). On the other hand, aromatics including benzenes and lignin derivatives evolved at a relatively high-temperature region (300-600°C). While the shapes of the EGA curves were different between the soils and extracted HAs, the major components of the evolved gas and the pyrolysis behavior of the constituents in the HAs and soil samples were similar. The amount of evolved gas from the Andisol HAs, which mainly consisted of CO2, was very low in comparison to that from the Entisol and Inceptisol HAs. The amount of evolved gas and the molecular weight of the pyrolysis products decreased as humification progressed, but the proportion of CO2 in the total area of the EGA curves increased. The results demonstrated that humification reduces the proportion of volatile components and increases the amount of carboxyl groups. As a result, the molecular structure of HAs is found to be mainly composed of non-volatile components and carboxyl groups. Since EGA-MS can provide information about the chemical structure and pyrolysis characteristics of a small sample without pretreatment, it is a useful tool for soil organic matter research.

Hydrogenation Reactions during Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Polymer Samples Using Hydrogen Carrier Gas.

Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of polymer samples is studied focusing on the effect of hydrogen (H2) carrier gas on chromatographic and spectral data. The pyrograms and the related mass spectra of high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene, and polystyrene (PS) serve to illustrate the differences between the species formed in H2 and the helium environment. Differences in the pyrograms and the spectra are generally thought to be a result of the hydrogenation reaction of the pyrolyzates. From the peak intensity changes in the pyrograms of HDPE and PS, hydrogenation of unsaturated pyrolyzates is concluded to occur when the pyrolysis is done in H2. Moreover, additional hydrogenation of the pyrolyzates occurs in the electron ionization source of a MS detector when H2 is used as a carrier gas. Finally, the applicability of mass spectral libraries to characterize pyrograms obtained in H2 is illustrated using 24 polymers. The effect of the hydrogenation reaction on the library search results is found to be negligible for most polymer samples with polar and nonpolar monomer units.

Pyrolysis and catalytic upgrading of Citrus unshiu peel.

Ex situ catalytic pyrolysis of Citrus unshiu (C. unshiu) peel was performed using a tandem µ-reactor-GC/MS consisting of two sequential furnaces. The pyrolyzates of C. unshiu peel, composed mainly of alcohols, ketones and furans produced in the 1st furnace of the reactor, were upgraded to aromatics by the use of catalysts in the 2nd furnace. Compared to wood powder, C. unshiu peel produced larger amounts of aromatics over HZSM-5(23). Among the various catalysts, HZSM-5(23) and HBETA(25) showed high aromatic yields, 6.78 C% and 9.69 C%, respectively. HBETA(25) produced large amounts of undesirable PAHs (3.59 C%). During the sequential catalytic upgrading test, the yield of BTEXs (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) over HZSM-5(23) was reduced more slowly than that over HBETA(25) because of the slower deactivation of HZSM-5(23), which suggests that HZSM-5(23) is a more stable catalyst than the other catalysts used in this study during the sequential catalytic upgrading of C. unshiu peel pyrolyzates.

Polymer-coated sample cup for quantitative analysis of semi-volatile phthalates in polymeric materials by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A new "polymer-coated" sample cup useful for the analysis of phthalates in polymeric materials by thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS using a temperature programmable furnace type pyrolyzer as a TD device was developed to suppress the emission of semi-volatile phthalates such as dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP) during the measurements. The inner surface of a sample cup was coated by polymers which act as a sorbent for the phthalates. Three polymers, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and poly (methyl methacrylate), were chosen as the coating polymers. A mixture of ten phthalates including DMP and DEP was used as the test sample to estimate the performance of the sample cups. When a conventional sample cup without any polymer coating was used, 90 and 50% reductions in the peak areas of DMP and DEP were respectively observed at the waiting time of 200 min. On the contrary, no reduction of peak area of DMP and DEP during the same waiting time was observed with any one of the three coating polymers at the proper polymer film thickness. These results suggest that the polymer-coated sample cup suppresses the emission of semi-volatile phthalates and is effective for the analysis of phthalates containing DMP and DEP by TD-GC/MS.

Development of a simple vent-free interface for capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

A novel and simple interface for capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed using a piece of deactivated stainless-steel tubing. This interface eliminated the need to vent the MS ion source when changing columns. Various chromatographic performance indicators, such as inertness, and thermal and chemical stability, were confirmed to be unaffected by using this interface at an elevated temperature of around 300°C. The new interface should facilitate the characterization of polymeric materials using analytical pyrolysis techniques in which frequent switching is required in the measuring mode, such as evolved gas analysis-MS and flash pyrolysis-GC-MS.

Solid-phase extraction element based on epoxy polymer monolith for determination of polar organic compounds in aqueous media.

A solid-phase extraction element based on epoxy polymer monolith was fabricated for sorptive enrichment of polar compounds from liquid and gaseous samples. After ultrasonication of the element in an aqueous solution for a given period of time, the thermal desorption (TD) using a pyrolyzer with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), in which TD temperature was programmed from 50 to 250 °C for the analytes absorbed in the element, was used to evaluate the element for basic extraction performance using the aqueous standard mixtures consisting of compounds having varied polarities such as hexanol, isoamyl acetate, linalool, furfural and decanoic acid, in concentrations ranging from 10 µg/L to 1 mg/L. Excellent linear relationships were observed for all compounds in the standard mixture, except decanoic acid. In the extraction of beverages such as red wine, the extraction element showed stronger adsorption characteristics for polar compounds such as alcohols and acids than a non-polar polydimethylsiloxane-based element. This feature is derived from the main polymer structure along with hydroxyl and amino groups present in the epoxy-based monolith polymer matrix.

Rapid and simple determination of phthalates in plastic toys by a thermal desorption-GC/MS method.

A thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS method was applied for the determination of phthalates in plastic children's toys. The method, which does not need any cumbersome sample pretreatment such as solvent extraction, filtration and derivatization, has been proved to be useful not only as a sensitive analytical method to evaluate phthalate concentration in the toys, but also as a rapid and practical screening method to check whether the concentration exceeds the regulatory limit.

Rapid estimation of trace organophosphonate used as a scale inhibitor in aqueous systems by reactive pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

The determination of trace organophosphonates which are used in cooling towers as a scale inhibitor usually involves extraction and/or concentration of the target components prior to analysis. The extracts are analyzed using chromatographic or spectroscopic methods. This methodology is not only cumbersome but also results in poor data quality. This work presents a novel approach for the rapid and sensitive determination of trace amounts of an organophosphonate: 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP) in aqueous solution. This method is based upon reactive pyrolysis-GC/MS in the presence of tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH). Approximately 10 microL of the aqueous sample containing a trace amount of HEDP and 1 microL of 25% a methanol TMAH solution was placed in the sample cup. The cup was then dropped into the furnace which was at 350 degrees C. The heat initiated the hydrolysis of the organophosphonate followed by the methylation of the hydrolysates. Trimethylphosphate (TMP) was detected by GC/MS. The level of TMP is related to the level of the phosphonate, HEDP in the aqueous sample. Using an external standard calibration curve, it was possible to make a rapid estimation of mg/L levels of organophosphate.

Evaluation of the thermal desorption-GC/MS method for the determination of decabromodiphenyl ether (DeBDE) in order of a few hundred ppm contained in a certified standard polystyrene sample.

Thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS, recently developed for the determination of DeBDE in a polystyrene (PS) sample to an order of a few %, was evaluated in detail by using a certified standard PS sample containing 317 ppm of DeBDE. Not only the accuracy and precision of the results, but also the linearity of the working calibration curve were discussed in terms of the catalytic decomposition of DeBDE induced by the degrading macro-radical of the matrix polymer.

Rapid determination of decabromodiphenyl ether in polystyrene by thermal desorption-GC/MS.

A rapid determination of decabromodiphenyl ether (DeBDE) in polystyrene (PS) by thermal desorption (TD)-GC/MS was studied. The TD-GC/MS method using a pyrolysis-GC/MS system allowed the quick quantification of DeBDE in a waste TV back plate composing of a PS flame-retarded with polybrominated diphenyl ethers on the basis of the resulting chromatogram with a ca. 4% relative standard deviation without using any tedious sample pretreatment, such as solvent extraction.

Development of a novel solid-phase extraction element for thermal desorption gas chromatography analysis.

A novel solid-phase extraction element is developed for sorptive enrichment of dilute analytes from liquid samples with high extraction efficiencies due to its larger amounts of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) absorbent than the conventional syringe type of solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The extraction element is made of titanium (Ti) open tubular tube (30 mm x 1.2 mm i.d. x 1.6 mm o.d.) coated with a chemically bonded layer of PDMS (500 microm in thickness). The extraction element combined with thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using a pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry system was used to extract and analyze a typical herbicide, bethrodine in water samples over a concentration range from 2.5 to 2.5 x 10(4) ng/l. Thus obtained calibration curve showed good linearity for the tested whole concentration range with regression coefficient of 0.992. Detection limit of 0.5 ng/l level was achieved and the reproducibility of the measurements for bethrodine at 10 ng/l level was found to be fairly good with relative standard deviation below 7.5%.

Development and application of pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for the analysis of bound trinitrotoluene residues in soil.

TNT (trinitrotoluene) is a contaminant of global environmental significance, yet determining its environmental fate has posed longstanding challenges. To date, only differential extraction-based approaches have been able to determine the presence of covalently bound, reduced forms of TNT in field soils. Here, we employed thermal elution, pyrolysis, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to distinguish between covalently bound and noncovalently bound reduced forms of TNT in soil. Model soil organic matter-based matrixes were used to develop an assay in which noncovalently bound (monomeric) aminodinitrotoluene (ADNT) and diaminonitrotoluene (DANT) were desorbed from the matrix and analyzed at a lower temperature than covalently bound forms of these same compounds. A thermal desorption technique, evolved gas analysis, was initially employed to differentiate between covalently bound and added 15N-labeled monomeric compounds. A refined thermal elution procedure, termed "double-shot analysis" (DSA), allowed a sample to be sequentially analyzed in two phases. In phase 1, all of an added 15N-labeled monomeric contaminant was eluted from the sample at relatively low temperature. In phase 2 during high-temperature pyrolysis, the remaining covalently bound contaminants were detected. DSA analysis of soil from the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant (LAAP; approximately 5000 ppm TNT) revealed the presence of DANT, ADNT, and TNT. After scrutinizing the DSA data and comparing them to results from solvent-extracted and base/ acid-hydrolyzed LAAP soil, we concluded that the TNT was a noncovalently bound "carryover" from phase 1. Thus, the pyrolysis-GC/MS technique successfully defined covalently bound pools of ADNT and DANT in the field soil sample.