Development of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, m-xylene, p-xylene and o-xylene (BTEX) gas reference standards for air pollution monitoring in South Africa

Abstract

Direct monitoring of volatile organic compounds emitted from industrial sources as well as the monitoring of ambient levels thereof in the atmosphere play an important role in providing data for various legislative requirements. There are many volatile organic compounds emitted to the atmosphere, from biomass burning, power stations, and many other sources. Primary reference gas mixtures of volatile organic compounds containing six components, namely benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, and p-xylene (BTEX) were prepared by gravimetric methods at nominal amount of substance fractions of 10 µmol/mol. The preparation was performed using the stainless steel (loop) method and direct liquid injection method using gas tight syringe connected to a dedicated syringe heater for comparison purposes. The results of the gravimetric values for both methods were within 1 % of the nominal amount of substance fraction. After the preparation, comparison was achieved by analysis of the BTEX gas mixtures using gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) and showed comparability to within 2 % of the gravimetric values. The contributions to the uncertainty of measurement were from weighing stainless steel tubes, syringes, and gas cylinders, as well as purity data. The contribution to the uncertainty of measurement from the analysis by GC-FID were repeatability and reproducibility. The combined expanded uncertainty of measurement was between 1.09 % and 3.51 %. The larger deviation from the gravimetric values and associated uncertainty was observed for benzene due to its higher volatility compared to the other components. The BTEX reference gas mixtures prepared in this study are currently being used as a source of traceability in South Africa for air pollution monitoring purposes.