Title

Adsorption Saturation And Chromatographic Distortion Effects On Passive Headspace Sampling With Activated Charcoal In Fire Debris Analysis

Keywords

Activated charcoal; Fire debris; Forensic science; Passive headspace

Abstract

Distortion of the chromatographic profile obtained for hydrocarbons that have been sampled by adsorption onto activated charcoal is a well-known phenomenon. The work reported here helps to better define the causes of chromatographic profile distortion and offers a potential method to avoid chromatographic distortion in some cases through a subsampling technique. The recovery of hydrocarbons from an equimolar mixture was investigated to determine the influence of hydrocarbon concentration on the molar ratios of recovered components. In a one-quart container, hydrocarbon volumes as small as 24 μL (liquid) were sufficient to saturate the surface area available for adsorption on a 99.0 mm2 square of activated charcoal, resulting in significant distortions in the molar ratio and the chromatographic profile of the recovered hydrocarbons. Passive headspace sampling of a similarly small volume of unweathered gasoline spiked onto carpet padding resulted in a significant distortion of the chromatographic profile. The chromatographic profile of the recovered hydrocarbons closely resembled 75% weathered gasoline. Heating the container spiked with unweathered gasoline to evenly distribute the components and then removing a subsample of the carpet padding to a second container for passive headspace analysis greatly reduced the amount of distortion in the resulting chromatogram. Copyright © 2005 by ASTM International.

Publication Date

1-1-2005

Publication Title

Journal of Forensic Sciences

Volume

50

Issue

2

Number of Pages

316-325

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1520/jfs2004274

Socpus ID

14844302660 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/14844302660

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