Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G de Gennaro

Publications and source records attributed to G de Gennaro.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Monitoring of odor compounds produced by solid waste treatment plants with diffusive samplers.

Nuisance caused by odors is one of the most important problems for waste management plants. To control an odor nuisance, it must first be quantified. The analytical difficulties in odor measurements are related to the high number of volatile components (belonging to several chemical classes), above all when the concentration is lower than the detection limit of the technique used for the measurement. In this work, 2-butanone, alpha-pinene, tetrachloroethylene, dimethyldisulfide, beta-pinene, limonene, phenol and benzoic acid are determined, because they are representative of some important classes of compounds with higher odor impact. The compounds are sampled with thermal desorbable radial diffusive samplers Radiello containing Tenax cartridges. The analytical repeatability and the complete thermal desorption of the cartridges were verified for each odor compound; the relative standard deviations for repeated samples and the recovery percentage were, respectively, less than 7% and about 97% for all compounds. The measurements of the linearity of sampling showed no systematic difference according to the collection period. The comparison between the odor threshold and the limit of detection demonstrated that this method is reliable for the recognition and quantification of odor compounds, allowing Public Administration to impose legal limits and the control agencies to verify them.

Adsorption↗
PubMed2003

Determination of nutrients in the presence of high chloride concentrations by column-switching ion chromatography.

Determination of inorganic anions in waters of high salinity is one of the most difficult task in analytical chemistry. A simple column-switching method, based on an original chromatographic set-up, for the determination of nutrients (nitrate, nitrite and phosphate) in chloride rich aqueous matrices is presented. A pre-separation system (made of two in line pre-columns, Dionex AG9-HC 4 mm) connected to an analytical column (Dionex AS9-HC 4 mm) by a four way pneumatic valve, allows chloride to be eluted off into the waste and nutrients to be separated and detected by a conductimeter and/or a UV spectrophotometer. Neither chemical pre-treatment nor sample dilution are required; sample matrices presenting a large range of chloride concentrations can be investigated. Moreover by using this technology, automation for routine analysis, low analysis time and low costs can be achieved. LODs of 100, 300, 1000 microg/l for nitrate, nitrite and phosphate, respectively, have been obtained by spiking a synthetic sea water sample containing 20,000 mg/l of chloride and 3000 mg/l of sulphate. Analyte calibration curves of analytes are linear (r>0.99) in the range between the LODs and 60 mg/l. This method was applied to nutrients determination in sea water samples collected near a river outlet.

Chlorides↗
PubMed2001

Source apportionment of gaseous atmospheric pollutants by means of an absolute principal component scores (APCS) receptor model.

A multivariate statistical method has been applied to apportion the atmospheric pollutant concentrations measured by automatic gas analyzers placed on a mobile laboratory for air quality monitoring in Taranto (Italy). In particular, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) followed by Absolute Principal Component Scores (APCS) technique was performed to identify the number of emission sources and their contribution to measured concentrations of CO, NOx, benzene toluene m+p-Xylene (BTX). This procedure singled out two different sources that explain about 85% of collected data variance.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2000

Analysis of heavy metals in atmospheric particulate by ion chromatography.

Cu, Ni, Zn, Co, Fe+2, Mn, Cd, Fe+3 and Pb are easily separated and detected in isocratic mode by ion chromatography with post-column derivatization using a bifunctional ion-exchange column and an eluent formed by oxalic acid (28 mM) and sodium nitrate (250 mM). The separation is optimised by using a suggested sample solution containing a given concentration of chloride. Detection limits were 10-15 ppb for all the metals except for cadmium and lead, for which detection limits of 30 and 60 ppb were found, respectively. The method was tested on an atmospheric particulate certified sample. The measured values were in good agreement with certified values. Real samples of atmospheric particulate from industrial and urban sites were analysed and the results are discussed.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2000

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the atmospheric particulate: focused microwaves for a faster extraction method.

In this paper, improvements obtained by using focused microwaves for extraction, in the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed on particulate matter, are discussed. The method was tested on the following PAHs, which are considered to be among the most harmful with regard to carcinogenicity: benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene. The extraction of PAHs and concentration of the sample can be performed in 3 h with a recovery of at least 70% and a maximum standard deviation of 4%. These steps are followed by clean-up on a SPE (solid-phase extraction) cartridge and analysis by GC-MS. Real samples collected in the urban area of Bari were analysed according to the proposed procedure.

Air Pollution↗