Phenomenex has published a technical note providing information and tools for meeting and exceeding EPA Method 8270D guidelines.
The method for semivolatiles (SVOCs) by GC/MS is widely used for solid waste testing in the environmental industry, and contains an exceptionally long list of compounds to be extracted from challenging, dirty matrices.
GC column inertness is important for successful resolution of these target compounds. Phenomenex’s Enviro-Inert Technology enables the production of columns that perform under the most demanding of conditions, even surpassing EPA requirements.
“Traditionally, general-purpose columns are not QC-tested to perform under the specific conditions that semivolatiles analyses present,” explained Kristen Parnell, brand manager for GC products at Phenomenex.
“Even columns marketed as ’inert’ may not perform well for both the basic and acidic compounds found in these samples, because performance indicators specific to semivolatiles are not monitored in the QC process.
“A column may show good responses for bases at the expense of response for acids, or vise versa. GC chemists often must trim, condition or prime their columns and may still find that they fail to perform satisfactorily,” she said.
The application note details the importance of monitoring specific SVOC criteria during QC testing and reviews the performance of several GC columns typically used for EPA 8270D.
A rigorous multi-test QC process, which includes requirements more stringent than the EPA method and ensures the success rate of Zebron ZB-SemiVolatiles columns, is used as the basis for discussion and comparison.
