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
Copyright Status
Unknown
Socpus ID
14844302660 (Scopus)
Source API URL
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/14844302660
STARS Citation
Williams, Mary R.; Fernandes, Denise; Bridge, Candice; Dorrien, Derek; and Elliott, Stefanie, "Adsorption Saturation And Chromatographic Distortion Effects On Passive Headspace Sampling With Activated Charcoal In Fire Debris Analysis" (2005). Scopus Export 2000s. 4565.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/scopus2000/4565