Detection of Explosives by Spme/gc in Buried TNT Soils

The detection of trace amount of explosives is of utmost importance in many day-to-day operations. Moreover, the detection of landmines is an acute and urgent worldwide problem, which needs specific, rapid and cost effective solutions. The most commonly used explosive in landmines is trinitrotoluene (TNT). The present work describes the use of immersion mode solid-phase micro-extraction (I-SPME) for extraction of TNT and its degradation products from surface soil samples. The analysis for TNT was realized using two instruments. The first instrument used was a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with micro cell Ni, and Electron Capture Detector (µ-ECD) which allowed establishing the parameters for I-SPME of TNT in sand. The second instrument was a JEOL GCMATE-II ? gas chromatograph -mass spectrometer coupled to a Tunable Electron Energy Monochromatic (TEEM-GC/MS) which permitted the identification of compounds present in mix (TNT-sand). The experimental results demonstrated the relative effects of controllable variables. Variables discussed include fiber chemistry coating, extraction, adsorption times, and matrix effect. Additionally, surface soil samples containing TNT were evaluated to study degradation products.

Keywords: TNT, I-SPME , GC