Analysis of methyl tert.-butyl ether and its degradation products by direct aqueous injection onto gas chromatography with mass spectrometry or flame ionization detection systems

A method was developed to analyze methyl tert.-butyl ether (MTBE) and its degradation products by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or flame ionization detection (FID) with direct aqueous injection. The column had dimensions of 30 mx0.25 mm with film thickness 0.25 mu m and a stationary phase of FFAP (nitroterephthalic acid-modified polyethylene glycol). The optimized GC conditions for non-acid components were as follows: carrier gas flow-rate, 1 mL/min; oven temperature, 35 degrees C for 5.5 min, ramped to 90 degrees C at 25 degrees C/min, then ramped to 200 degrees C at 40 degrees C/min and held at 200 degrees C for 8 min. The conditions for the acid components were: carrier gas how-rate, 1 mL/min; oven temperature, 110 degrees C for 2 min, ramped to 150 degrees C at 10 degrees C/min, then ramped to 200 degrees C at 40 degrees C/min. The injection port contained a silanized-glass reverse-cup liner filled with Carbofrit. The minimum concentrations for the linear range for the selective ion monitoring mode were 30 to 100 mu g/L, depending on the analytes. The minimum detection limit was 1 mg/L for MTBE and tert.-butanol when using FID. More components could be analyzed with the FFAP-type column than with the cyanopropylphenyl-dimethyl polysiloxane-type column. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.