GC-ECD Exhaust Plumbing

[queenann]

I am running PCBs/Pesticides on a GC-ECD. The detector exhaust is wipe-tested regularly for radioactivity as it should be, but not so for any PCBs/Pesticides. Should I be concerned?

There are plans to engineer more ventilation in the area, but in the interim, is there such a thing as a trap for the ECD exhaust line?

I attempted to make a handmade trap out of plastic syringe filled with glass wool/charcoal, but it created backpressure and shifted my retention times. Any ideas?

[Peter Apps]

Restek do a split vent trap that has a diameter of about 25 mm so should have low back pressure - I use them a lot for carrier and purge gas cleanup. Catalog no 20699.

Peter

[thohry]

The trap for ECD vent is not needed. You just put it in the fume hood with a 1/4 plastic tube.

[queenann]

No fume hood in the entire room. Just an AC intake/exhaust that doesn't vent to the outside but cycles within the building.

[thohry]

No fume hood in the entire room. Just an AC intake/exhaust that doesn't vent to the outside but cycles within the building.

I still think you should plump the ECD vent outside. Generally, it's not so difficult.

[Peter Apps]

Any length of plastic tube will absorb the pesticides and PCBs and turn into hazardous waste in the process.

Peter

[AICMM]

Queenann,

Based on the assumption that you can dispose of hazardous waste properly, I have seen the following; the exhaust tube from the ECD in a test tube of hexadecane. The hexadecane will now be thoroughly contaminated with whatever you have analyzed but it allows you to trap with minimal back pressure and low volatility so it might meet your criteria.

Best regards,

AICMM