The determination of environmental 2-ethoxyethanol by gas chromatography

A gas Chromatographic procedure for the determination of 2-ethoxyethanol (C₂H₅OCH₂CH₂OH) was developed by using the general principles of analysis of solvent vapors. 2-Ethoxyethanol was sampled by adsorbing on activated carbon. It was desorbed with carbon disulfide plus 2-propanol (0.5%). The analytical column was packed with 10% free fatty acid phase on Chromosorb-P AW. The analysis was conducted at 130° C isothermal using a flame ionization detector. Addition of 2-propanol (0.5%) to carbon disulfide improved (P0.01) desorption of 2-ethoxyethanol adsorbed on activated carbon. The mean desorption efficiency of carbon disulfide plus 2-propanol (0.5%) was 87.9±2.86% (n=15). Based on a 101 air sample and detector sensitivity of 2×10^–10AFS, the calculated limit of detection of 2-ethoxyethanol was 0.1 ppm. The precision (coefficient of variation) for this analytical procedure was 3.34% (n=12). In conclusion, 2-ethoxyethanol adsorbed on activated carbon can be desorbed with carbon disulfide plus 2-propanol (0.5%). Subsequently the desorbed 2-ethoxyethanol can be analyzed by gas chromatographic identification on 10% FFAP using a flame ionization detector.The abstract of this research paper constituted a part of the proceedings of the 4th Annual Meeting of The American College of Toxicology held at Arlington, Virginia, November 30 to December 2, 1983 (Sidhu 1984)