Evaluation of gas emissions from coal stockpile.

Gas emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, dimethylsulfide, carbon monoxide and oxygen from a coal stockpile in Velenje were determined. Gases from the coal stockpile were collected in Alltech Standard sampling bags and then analysed using a capillary gas chromatograph and electrochemical sensors. A flame ionisation detector equipped with a Zr/Ni catalytic reactor was used for the determination of methane and carbon dioxide. Dimethylsulfide was detected with a flame photometric detector, and the concentrations of carbon monoxide and oxygen were determined by use of electrochemical sensors. The results showed that the main influence on gas emissions is related to the ambient temperature. Emissions of carbon dioxide during summer 2001 (average temperature during sampling period was 24 degrees C) were approximately 30-times higher than during winter 2002 (average temperature during sampling period was -2 degrees C) and were also influenced by the oxygen concentration. Carbon dioxide is mainly formed by oxidation of coal. Methane and dimethylsulfide are desorbed from coal, and are present in higher concentrations in stockpile emissions when stockpiles are renewed. The dimethylsulfide concentration, in contrast to laboratory experiments in stockpile emissions, falls immediately due to photo-degradation.

Investigations of the determination and transformations of diazinon and malathion under environmental conditions using gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionisation detector.

Degradation of two model insecticides, diazinon and malathion, and their degradation products 2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol--IMP (diazinon hydrolysis product) and malaoxon (malathion oxidation product) was compared and studied in the environment. The pesticides and their metabolites were extracted from samples (water, soil, chicory) with ethyl acetate and subsequently the extracts were analyzed by GC/FID. It was shown that hydrolysis is the major process in the degradation of these pesticides in water. In fact, 95% of diazinon was degraded, and only 10% of malathion was oxidised. In soil 30% of diazinon exposed to the sunlight was decomposed by photolysis, whereas in soil left in the darkness no degradation products were observed. In soil left under environmental conditions, 90% of diazinon was degraded and 40% from its initial concentration was transformed into IMP. The concentrations of the pesticides after 21 days on chicory were under maximal allowable concentration, which is 0.5 ppm for malathion and for diazinon. The concentration of malaoxon was more than twice as high as the allowable value, which is for the sum of malathion and malaoxon 3 ppm.

Effect of column temperature on the behaviour of some angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors during high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis.

The chromatographic behaviour of the ACE inhibitors lisinopril, enalapril and its two degradation products, enalaprilat (hydrolytic degradation product) and diketopiperazine (DKP) (cyclization degradation product) was studied as a function of column temperature and pH of the mobile phase. The rate of isomerization (which influences the peak shape or even peak splitting during chromatographic analysis) increases with temperature. The shape of the chromatographic peak for enalapril, enalaprilat and lisinopril is also pH dependent. At high temperature (80 degrees C) and low pH (pH=2) all studied compounds appear on the chromatogram as a narrow chromatographic peak. Chromatographic peaks become broader or they split by lowering the column temperature. Enalapril appears at 6 degrees C on the chromatogram in two peaks which belong to its cis- and trans-rotation isomers. Separation of the rotamers was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy.

Solid-phase extraction with styrene-divinylbenzene sorbent for high-performance liquid or gas chromatographic determination of urinary chloro- and methylthiotriazines.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure on a styrene-divinylbenzene (SDB-1 cartridge) for extraction and cleaning of the triazine herbicides atrazine, simazine, ametryn, and prometryn and atrazine monodealkylated metabolites from urine samples was developed and optimised for final high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC-UV diode array detection) and gas chromatographic (GC-electron-capture detection and GC-thermionic-sensitive detection) analyses. Interfering polar matrices were eliminated by rinsing SDB-1 with 1% acetonitrile in water or with pure water. Extraction recoveries were from 78 to 101% with an RSD of about 10% for all studied compounds. The extraction recovery for the didealkylated atrazine metabolite was significantly lower and this compound cannot be determined with these procedures. Sorbent matrix generated interferences, although not detected by the chromatographic system, lowered the response of nitrogen-phosphorus and electron-capture GC detectors for monodealkylated chlorotriazines when compared to standards prepared in n-hexane. HPLC and GC analysis with SPE (SDB-1) preconcentration showed excellent linearity over the concentration range tested, with detection limits in urine of 10 ng ml(-1) for the parent herbicides (HPLC and GC analysis) and 20 ng ml(-1) for monodealkylated chlorotriazines (HPLC analysis).

Characterisation of sorbate geometrical isomers.

trans,trans Isomers of sorbic acid, its potassium salt and ethyl sorbate isomerise under UV irradiation. All four geometrical isomers of the acid, salt and ester were separated using high-performance liquid chromatography on a nonpolar reversed-phase column (C18) and the ester also by gas chromatography on a VOCOL capillary column. The limit of detection and the interval of linearity were determined for all chromatographic methods. Individual isomers were identified with NMR analysis. Resolved chemical shifts of protons adjacent to the double bonds enabled qualitative and quantitative determination of isomers in the mixture. Antimicrobial activity of potassium sorbate isomers was tested on yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Results show that the pure trans,trans isomer has a higher antimicrobial activity than the mixture of isomers.

Determination of tramadol in human plasma by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using solid-phase extraction.

An analytical method using solid-phase extraction, capillary gas chromatography and mass selective detection in the electron-impact ionization (EI) mode was developed for the determination of tramadol (2-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexanol) in human plasma. The advantages of this method are the high sensitivity and selectivity and the linearity over the concentration range 2-500 ng/ml. Quantification was made using nefopam as an internal standard, and the detection limit was found to be 1 ng/ml. The standard deviations of the intra-day precision test ranged from 4.5 to 6.0% with respect to the concentration. Accuracy ranged from 1.0 to 4.0% (inter-day). The method was used for the determination of tramadol in a bioequivalence study.