title: Direct Measurement of Trace Elemental Mercury in Hydrocarbon Matrices by Gas Chromatography with Ultraviolet Photometric Detection.
abstract: We introduce a technique for the direct measurement of elemental mercury in light hydrocarbons such as natural gas. We determined elemental mercury at the parts-per-trillion level with high precision [<3% RSD (n = 20 manual injection)] using gas chromatography with ultraviolet photometric detection (GC-UV) at 254 nm. Our approach requires a small sample volume (1 mL) and does not rely on any form of sample preconcentration. The GC-UV separation employs an inert divinylbenzene porous layer open tubular column set to separate mercury from other components in the sample matrix. We incorporated a 10-port gas-sampling valve in the GC-UV system, which enables automated sampling, as well as back flushing capability to enhance system cleanliness and sample throughput. Total analysis time is <2 min, and the procedure is linear over a range of 2-83 μg/m(3) [correlation coefficient of R(2) = 0.998] with a measured recovery of >98% over this range.
authors.affiliation: Dow Chemical Canada ULC, Highway 15, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta T8L 2P4, Canada.|Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), University of Tasmania , Private Bag 75, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.|ARC Training Centre for Portable Analytical Separation Technologies (ASTech), University of Tasmania , Private Bag 75, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Ronda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gras
authors.affiliation: Dow Chemical Canada ULC, Highway 15, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta T8L 2P4, Canada.|Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), University of Tasmania , Private Bag 75, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luong
authors.affiliation: Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), University of Tasmania , Private Bag 75, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.|ARC Training Centre for Portable Analytical Separation Technologies (ASTech), University of Tasmania , Private Bag 75, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Shellie
mesh_terms: D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D010783:Photometry
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D008628:Mercury