Parts Per Trillion Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds in Water using Automated Headspace Extraction with the GERSTEL MPS and CTS-2 Cryofocusing Unit on an Agilent GC-MS

Static headspace extraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS) is an established technique for the determination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water and waste water. Analysis in the concentration range 1 to 100µg/L is well established. However, it might not deliver sufficient sensitivity at sub µg/L levels (i.e. parts per trillion) particularly for gases such as dichlorofluoromethane and vinyl chloride. This is often because the gases are not adequately trapped/refocused at the head of the analytical column at ambient temperatures.