Breakthrough Characteristics of Selected Organic Compounds on Tenax TA

Tenax TA is a widely used sorbent in analysis of trace levels of organic compounds in ambient air due to its excellent properties - strongly hydrophobic, heat-stable and having low analytical background. The use of Tenax TA for field sampling requires the knowledge of safe sampling volumes (SSV). The breakthrough volumes (BTV) and adsorption enthalpies of 15 organic compounds (n-pentane, n-hexane, hex-1-ene, benzene, toluene, m-xylene, acetone, pentan-2-one, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, chloroform, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, methyl acetate and ethyl acetate) on Tenax TA were determined and their SSV were calculated.