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Headspace mass spectrometry methodology: application to oil spill identification in soils.

Pérez Pavón JL, García Pinto C, Guerrero Peña A, Moreno Cordero B

Departamento de Química Analítica, Nutrición y Bromatología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad de Salamanca, 37008, Salamanca, Spain, jlpp@usal.es.

In the present work we report the results obtained with a methodology based on direct coupling of a headspace generator to a mass spectrometer for the identification of different types of petroleum crudes in polluted soils. With no prior treatment, the samples are subjected to the headspace generation process and the volatiles generated are introduced directly into the mass spectrometer, thereby obtaining a fingerprint of volatiles in the sample analysed. The mass spectrum corresponding to the mass/charge ratios (m/z) contains the information related to the composition of the headspace and is used as the analytical signal for the characterization of the samples. The signals obtained for the different samples were treated by chemometric techniques to obtain the desired information. The main advantage of the proposed methodology is that no prior chromatographic separation and no sample manipulation are required. The method is rapid, simple and, in view of the results, highly promising for the implementation of a new approach for oil spill identification in soils.

Published 18 April 2008 in Anal Bioanal Chem.
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