Comparison of nutshell granular activated carbons to commercial adsorbents for the purge-and-trap gas chromatographic analysis of volatile organic compounds

Granular activated carbons (GACs) made from agricultural by-products were investigated as adsorbents for short path thermal desorption gas chromatographic analysis of selected polar and nonpolar organic compounds. GACs made from macadamia nut, black walnut and hazelnut shells were compared to four commercially available adsorbents, namely, Tenax TA, Carboxen 569, Carbosieve SIII and coconut charcoal for their properties in purge-and-trap analysis. Adsorption values and breakthrough volumes were calculated for compounds from C3 and C6–C10. GACs derived from macadamia nut shells were found to adsorb and desorb between 80% (benzene) and 277% (ethylbenzene) more acetone (C3), benzene (C6), toluene (C7), ethyl- (C8), n-propyl- (C9), or sec.-butylbenzenes (C10) purged from water at the 100 ppb level than the commercial adsorbents tested.