1982 Volume 31 Issue 5 Pages 255-260
A method is described for the determination of aromatic nitro compounds in air pollutants. Airborne particulates and diesel engine exhaust samples were collected on glass fiber filters by high volume air sam pler and organic compounds in the samples were extracted with benzene-methanol (4 : 1 v/v) by a Soxhlet extraction. The compounds extracted were separated into neutral, acidic and basic fractions. The neutral fraction was chromatographed on a silica gel column and divided into four portions. The aromatic nitro compounds were contained in the third fraction which was eluted with benzene and then, were converted to aromatic amines by the reduction with hydrochloric acid and zinc powder. The aromatic amines formed were extracted with benzene, and were converted to the acyl derivatives with heptafluorobutyric anhydride. The products were determined by means of gas chromatograph equipped with a 63Ni electron capture detector. A glass column (2 m, 3 mm i. d.) of 3 % OV-17 on (80100) mesh Gas Chrom Q was operated at 250 °C with a detector at a temperature of 290 °C and a carrier gas (nitrogen) at a flow rate of 30 ml min-1. The average recoveries obtained for 1.0 μg and 0.1 μg of 1-nitropyrene added to the aromatic nitro compounds fraction of the airborne particulate matters were 94.5 % and 91.9 %, respectively. The coef ficients of variation were within 5 % (n=4). 3-nitro-fluoranthene, 2, 7-dinitrofluorene, 4, 4'-dinitrobiphenyl, 2-nitrofluorene, 1-nitronaphthalene, and 2-nitrobiphenyl were analyzed by the same method. 1-Nitropyrene was detected in the diesel engine exhaust {8.6 μg/g (dust)} and airborne particulate matters in industrial area (20.8 pg/m3).
