Gas Chromatographic Determination of ppm-Level Carbon Tetrachloride in Wastewater Using a Flame Ionization Detector and Nitrogen Carrier Gas for Manufacturing Process Control

Abstract

A simple and accurate analytical method was developed for determining carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) at the ppm level in wastewater from the manufacturing process as part of process monitoring and control. In this method, CCl₄ was extracted from wastewater using toluene and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID) and an OVI-G43 capillary column (film thickness: 3 μm; inner diameter: 0.53 mm; and length: 30 m）, with nitrogen as the carrier gas. The proposed method was validated in terms of its specificity, linearity, accuracy, and repeatability. The regression curve demonstrated excellent linearity (r = 1.000, r² = 1.000) over a concentration range of 0.5–10 ppm. The mean recovery at concentrations between 0.5 and 5 ppm was 90 %, and the relative standard deviation for repeatability was 2.0 %. The limit of quantification was 0.5 ppm based on the linearity and accuracy results. The proposed method requires only simple liquid–liquid extraction, a versatile GC-FID system, and a sustainable carrier gas (nitrogen), making it highly suitable for the analysis of CCl₄ at manufacturing sites.