Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research-National Research Council (IIA-CNR), Research Area of Rome 1, Via Salaria km 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), via Fontana Candida 1, Monte Porzio Catone, 00078 Rome, Italy.
Sensors (Basel). 2020 Dec 28;21(1):125. doi: 10.3390/s21010125.
Benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX) are an important part of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to be detected and monitored in the air, due to their toxicity towards human health. One of the most reliable technique used in BTX detection is gas chromatography (GC), which presents a high sensitivity. On the other hand, it has important drawbacks, such as high costs, the need for qualified personnel and frequent maintenance. To overcome these drawbacks, this work reports the development of a low cost and portable BTX gas detection system based on a mini chromatographic cartridge, a photo ionization detector (PID), a simple control unit (based on Arduino architecture) and a mini pump. In order to separate the BTX components, we propose the use of a cartridge 80 mm in length, composed of several commercial chromatographic column sections. To test the system performances, we have injected different amounts (from about 0.3 to 5.3 µg) of benzene, toluene and xylene and two of the most frequent possible interferents (ethanol, acetone). Experimental results have shown different retention time values (i.e., 25 ± 0.5 s, 51 ± 1.2 s and 117 ± 4 s, respectively) for benzene, toluene and xylene.
苯、甲苯和二甲苯（BTX）是空气中挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）中需要检测和监测的重要组成部分，因为它们对人类健康具有毒性。BTX 检测中最可靠的技术之一是气相色谱法（GC），它具有很高的灵敏度。另一方面，它也有一些重要的缺点，如成本高、需要合格的人员和频繁的维护。为了克服这些缺点，本工作开发了一种基于微型色谱柱、光离子化检测器（PID）、简单的控制单元（基于 Arduino 架构）和微型泵的低成本、便携式 BTX 气体检测系统。为了分离 BTX 成分，我们建议使用一个 80 毫米长的墨盒，由几个商用色谱柱段组成。为了测试系统性能，我们注入了不同量（约 0.3 至 5.3μg）的苯、甲苯和二甲苯，以及两种最常见的可能干扰物（乙醇、丙酮）。实验结果表明，苯、甲苯和二甲苯的保留时间值分别为 25±0.5s、51±1.2s 和 117±4s。
