Use of a modified Tenax GC column packing for the direct gas chromatographic analysis of phenols in water at the ppm level.

Dilute solutions of phenols in water at the ppm level may be analysed gas chromatographically by direct injection onto a column with a packing similar to that used in the Viking 1975 spacecraft: Tenax GC (2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide polymer) modified with polymetaphenyl ether liquid phase to eradicate irreversible adsorption. Symmetrical peaks were observed for injections of less than 1 ng of phenol and some of its alkylated derivatives. Chromatographic properties of modified Tenax GC columns are reported along with their application to the analysis of some industrial effluents with previous work-up.