title: Determination of aromatic hydrocarbons in bituminous emulsion sealants using headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
abstract: The possibility of quantitative determination of aromatic hydrocarbons in bituminous emulsion sealants was investigated using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The target analytes studied were benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p-, m-, and o-xylene (BTEX) as well as 1,3,5- and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene. Experimental factors influencing HS-SPME efficiency were studied (sample-headspace equilibration time, extraction time and sample matrix effects). A HS-SPME method using surrogate matrix was developed. The detection limit was estimated as approximately 0.1 ppmw for the target analytes investigated. Good linearity was observed (R(2)>0.997) for all calibration curves obtained. The repeatability of the method (RSD, relative standard deviation) was found less than 10%. The accuracy of the method given by recovery of spiked samples was between 99 and 116%. The HS-SPME method developed was applied to two commercially available bituminous emulsion sealants. External calibration and standard addition approaches were investigated, and statistical paired t-test was performed. The contents of target aromatic hydrocarbons in the sealants studied varied from approximately 0.4 to 150 ppmw. The method developed shows potential as a tool for the determination of aromatic hydrocarbons in emulsified bituminous materials.
authors.affiliation: Division of Highway Engineering, Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 34, SE-100 44, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Isacsson
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D052617:Solid Phase Microextraction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; C006647:asphalt