Automated technology for autonomous measurement of fluorocarbons in groundwater

In Phase I, we established the technical feasibility of a field portable technology capable of performing automated sample concentration of functionalized perfluorocarbons  (PFCs) such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in groundwater. The overall goal of the Phase II project is to build and test a fully functional field deployable Phase II prototype capable of determining a broad class of PFCs in groundwater and other environmental water sources. The Phase II prototype integrates a sample concentration system and a sample injection system with a commercial field-portable GC/MS system. The sample concentration system automates the rapid evaporation procedure to concentrate the sample. The sample injection system performs automated SPME sampling of the concentrated sample and injection into the input port of the field portable GC/MS system. The GC/MS system performs separation and detection of the sample. The Phase II prototype is capable of performing automated separation and detection of a broad class of PFC’s in liquid samples with a Method Detection Limit below 10 parts-per-trillion under two hours.