title: Determination of microstickies in recycled whitewater by headspace gas chromatography.
abstract: This study proposed a novel headspace gas chromatographic (HS-GC) method for determination of adhesive contaminants (microstickies) in recycled whitewater, a fiber containing process stream, in the paper mill. It is based on the adsorption behavior of toluene (as a tracer) on the hydrophobic surface of microstickies, which affects the apparent vapor-liquid equilibration partitioning of toluene. It was found that the equilibrium concentration of toluene in the vapor phase is inversely proportional to the apparent effective surface area of microstickies that remain in the corresponding solution. Thus, the amount of microsticky materials in the recycled whitewater can be quantified by HS-GC via indirect measurement of the toluene content in the vapor phase of the sample without any pretreatment. The presented method is simple, rapid and automated.
authors.affiliation: School of Light Industrial and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530004, China. xin-sheng.chai@ipst.gatech.edu
authors.forename: X-S
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Samp
authors.forename: Q F
authors.initials: QF
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: H N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000269:Adhesives / Q000032:analysis*; D000327:Adsorption; D002849:Chromatography, Gas / Q000379:methods*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014050:Toluene / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014050:Toluene