On-line Monitoring of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Using Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer
Time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) was utilized for monitoring typical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are important correlation compounds of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). Fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, naphthalene and pyrene were measured in certain concentration. The signals were analyzed to assess the performance of the instrument to detect correlation compounds. Experimental results showed that TOF-MS has a good response capability to the tested PAHs. The limit of detection could reach 25×10-9 mol/L(volume concentration is 500 part-per-billion level (ppbv). The signal intensity showed a good linear relation with real concentration levels5. The mass calibration from 25×10-9 mol/L to 500×10-9 mol/L(volume concentration from 0.5 to 10 ppmv (volume concentration of part-permillion level)) was carried out preliminary by fitting between on-line test signal intensity and concentration using the method of least square. The results supplied a feasibility to investigate the on-line monitoring method of PAHs in flue gas.