Radiofrequency Plasma Ionization/Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometer for Real-time MOnitoring of Trace Chemical Vapors During OB/OD Operations

Open burning/open detonation (OB/OD) operations for the disposal of obsolete, defective, and waste military energetic materials, such as propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics now require emissions data to support RCRA subpart X permit applications. Many of the current analytical methods used to obtain these data, such as gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and supercritical fluid chromatography/mass spectrometry, must be conducted off-site by specialized laboratories. There is a need for the development of a real-time analytical technique for monitoring trace chemical vapor emissions during OB/OD testing in a BangBox facility. In this study, we propose to develop such a system based on radiofrequency plasma ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The time-of-flight analyzer is based on a patented orthogonal acceleration geometry which provides improved resolution and sensitivity over the more typical linear geometry. The radiofrquency ionization source should provide ionization for a wide variety of chemical vapor species. The objectives of this Phase I proposal are to perform preliminary evaluation of a radiofrequency plasma ion source for production of ions from target analytes detected in previous OB/OD operations, and analysis with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer previously constructed for inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry, with the final goal of designing a prototype system to be constructed in Phase II for testing OB/OD operations at the Dugway Proving Ground BangBox facility.