System And Automatic Method For Extraction Of Gaseous Atmospheric Contaminants With Toxic Properties, Which Are Retained In Polyurethane Foam (Puf) Filters

Abstract

The objective of this work is to develop a system of extraction of organic chemical compounds with toxic properties, such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), contam inants present in gaseous atmospheric samples (ambi ent air). The air samples are made up of a solid phase mixture consisting of particulate matter (PM), and a gas eous phase. The devices for taking air samples collect the samples on different types of filters, using poly urethane foam filters (PUF) to retain the gaseous phase, which is extracted using organic solvents. The invention is aimed to develop a mechanical and automatic method to extract analytes from those filters, in order to increase the extraction efficiency, and the reproducibility and re petitiveness of the analytical procedure; using a reduced volume of solvents and shorter time of extraction (cost reduction).