| Title: | Rapid on-site detection of underground petroleum pipeline leaks and risk assessment using portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and solid phase microextraction |
| Author(s): | Wang L; Cheng Y; Wu C; Luo F; Lin Z; Naidu R; |
| Address: | "Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, ATC, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. Electronic address: Liang.Wang@newcastle.edu.au. Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, ATC, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Analytical Science of Food Safety and Biology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection for Food Safety, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fjian 350108, China" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.463980 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1873-3778 (Electronic) 0021-9673 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Locating underground pipeline leaks can be challenging due to their hidden nature and variable terrain conditions. To sample soil gas, solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was employed, and a portable gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to detect the presence and concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbon volatile organic compounds (pH-VOCs), including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX). We optimized the extraction method through benchtop studies using SPME. The appropriate fibre materials and exposure time were selected for each BTEX compound. Before applying SPME, we preconditioned the soil vapour samples by keeping the temperature at around 4 degrees C and using ethanol as a desorbing agent and moisture filters to minimize the impact of moisture. To conduct this optimisation, airbags were applied to condition the soil vapour samples and SPME sampling. By conditioning the samples using this method, we were able to improve analytical efficiency and accuracy while minimizing environmental impacts, resulting in more reliable research data in the field. The study employed portable GC/MS data to assess the concentration distribution of BTEX in soil vapour samples obtained from 1.5 m below the ground surface at 10 subsurface vapour monitoring locations at the leak site. After optimization, the detection limits of BTEX were almost 100 microg/m(3), and the measurement repeatabilities were approximately 5% and 15% for BTEX standards in the laboratory and soil vapour samples in the field, respectively. The soil vapour samples showed a hotspot region with high BTEX concentrations, reaching 30 mg/m(3), indicating a diesel return pipeline leak caused by a gasket failure in a flange. The prompt detection of the leak source was critical in minimizing environmental impact and worker safety hazards" |
| Keywords: | Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods *Solid Phase Microextraction/methods *Petroleum/analysis Benzene Derivatives/analysis Toluene/analysis Benzene/analysis Xylenes/analysis Soil Risk Assessment Portable gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (gc/ms; |
| Notes: | "MedlineWang, Liang Cheng, Ying Wu, Cuiqin Luo, Fang Lin, Zhenyu Naidu, Ravi eng Netherlands 2023/04/16 J Chromatogr A. 2023 May 10; 1696:463980. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.463980. Epub 2023 Apr 10" |
