Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Screening For Volatile Fatty Acids In Agricultural Air Using Solid Phase Microextraction And Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry, Jarett P. Spinhirne, Jacek A. Koziel, David B. Parker, Darren L. Williams, N. Andy Cole, John M. Sweeten

Jacek A. Koziel

Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are a major component of odorous gases associated with agricultural sources. Because of typically low VFA air concentrations, conventional air sampling methods including sorbent tubes and vacuum canisters are often not sensitive enough to detect them. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was used in this research because it is very sensitive, reusable, fast, and combines sampling and sample preparation, allowing for rapid detection of low concentrations of organics in air. This research focused on 7 VFAs: acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, valeric, and hexanoic acids. Field experiments were conducted to test this method for air sampling of …