Hu, DW
1993
The Next Horizon in Portable GC/MS for Field Air Monitoring Applications
Arnold, N.S.; Cole, P.A.; Hu, D.W.; Watteyne, B.; Urban, D.T. and Meuzelaar, H.L.C.
International Symposium on Field Screening Methods for Hazardous Wastes & Toxic Chemicals, Pittsburgh, PA, 2, 915-931, 1993. ( Also presented at 1993 International Symposium on Field Screening Methods for Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Chemicals, Las Vegas, NV, February 1993 and presented at the 41st ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrom. All. Topics, San Francisco, CA, January 1993). Funded by Hewlett Packard and ACERC.
Over the past few years, GC/MS has struggled out of the laboratory and into field applications. In spite of its complexity and size limitations, the sheer analytical power of this hyphenated technique has helped it earn its place in the field. A number of workers have demonstrated "transportable" GC/MS systems that may be moved to a field site and operated via personnel bringing samples to the instrument or via long heated sample transfer lines. The next horizon is to bring truly field-portable equipment to the field analytical problem. This horizon can be reached via the so-called "man-portable" GC/MS systems that can be operated while moving with an individual and are thus capable of addressing problems in situ, rather than just on-site.
The requirements of such systems are stringent. We suggest that realistic goals include high speed GC separation, low ppb sensitivity, remote control capability for hazardous environments, 25 lbs total system weight and 60 W total system power consumption. To obtain these goals innovative low power pumping techniques, lightweight materials and small mass analyzers are an absolute necessity. The present paper discusses the engineering design specifications of an integrated man-portable GC/MS system. Trade-offs to obtain sufficient GC flow rates and operating pressures are considered together with weight and power consumption issues for various mass analyzer configurations. The available pumping technology and its ability to meet stringent power and weight requirements will also be considered.
An existing demonstration prototype system developed in our laboratory and utilizing an HP 5971A mass analyzer system, an automated vapor sampling "transfer line" GC interface and a novel bulk getter pumping system along with remote laptop computer operation will be used as a benchmark. This system has already broken through the 100 W barrier with an approx. 50 lbs weight while utilizing a trap-and-desorb approach to obtain ppb level sensitivities. It is already clear that this system can meet many of the analytical challenges posed, but some discussion will be presented of the remaining hurdles required to meet power and weight requirements.
Hu, DW
1993
The Next Horizon in Portable GC/MS for Field Air Monitoring Applications
Arnold, N.S.; Cole, P.A.; Hu, D.W.; Watteyne, B.; Urban, D.T. and Meuzelaar, H.L.C.
International Symposium on Field Screening Methods for Hazardous Wastes & Toxic Chemicals, Pittsburgh, PA, 2, 915-931, 1993. ( Also presented at 1993 International Symposium on Field Screening Methods for Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Chemicals, Las Vegas, NV, February 1993 and presented at the 41st ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrom. All. Topics, San Francisco, CA, January 1993). Funded by Hewlett Packard and ACERC.
Over the past few years, GC/MS has struggled out of the laboratory and into field applications. In spite of its complexity and size limitations, the sheer analytical power of this hyphenated technique has helped it earn its place in the field. A number of workers have demonstrated "transportable" GC/MS systems that may be moved to a field site and operated via personnel bringing samples to the instrument or via long heated sample transfer lines. The next horizon is to bring truly field-portable equipment to the field analytical problem. This horizon can be reached via the so-called "man-portable" GC/MS systems that can be operated while moving with an individual and are thus capable of addressing problems in situ, rather than just on-site.
The requirements of such systems are stringent. We suggest that realistic goals include high speed GC separation, low ppb sensitivity, remote control capability for hazardous environments, 25 lbs total system weight and 60 W total system power consumption. To obtain these goals innovative low power pumping techniques, lightweight materials and small mass analyzers are an absolute necessity. The present paper discusses the engineering design specifications of an integrated man-portable GC/MS system. Trade-offs to obtain sufficient GC flow rates and operating pressures are considered together with weight and power consumption issues for various mass analyzer configurations. The available pumping technology and its ability to meet stringent power and weight requirements will also be considered.
An existing demonstration prototype system developed in our laboratory and utilizing an HP 5971A mass analyzer system, an automated vapor sampling "transfer line" GC interface and a novel bulk getter pumping system along with remote laptop computer operation will be used as a benchmark. This system has already broken through the 100 W barrier with an approx. 50 lbs weight while utilizing a trap-and-desorb approach to obtain ppb level sensitivities. It is already clear that this system can meet many of the analytical challenges posed, but some discussion will be presented of the remaining hurdles required to meet power and weight requirements.