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RESOURCE CENTER

CANISTER SAMPLING MAY YIELD SUPERIOR RESULTS FOR YOU

Why use a sampling canister?

If you?re using charcoal tubes, passive monitors, or other traditional equipment to sample air for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), consider the advantages that canister sampling offers. They:

  • ensure more reliable data.
  • let you monitor more compounds.
  • make it easier to collect and analyze air samples.

(If you’re already using air sampling canisters but haven’t yet discovered the benefits of our MiniCan, be sure to read about the types of canisters available, toward the end of this bulletin.)

What applications can an air-sampling canister be used for?

Canisters are well-suited for many types of sampling, including, but certainly not limited to, indoor air quality (IAQ), landfill/soil gas, stack gas, product off-gassing, product quality testing, product liability testing, and emergency response. Canister sampling can collect multiple compounds for both ppb and ppm analysis.

How does canister sampling produce such reliable data?

To prevent VOCs from sticking to the surface, thus enhancing the stability of the TO-15 compounds at subatmospheric pressures, air sampling canisters are acid-washed and electropolished, then treated with a fused silica deposition during manufacturing. Then, each time canisters are used, we decontaminate them, test them for cleanliness, and assign them independant batch numbers.

How does SGS Galson analyze canister samples?

Once we receive your samples,we look over the exterior of the canister for integrity and bring it to room temperature. The MiniCans are placed on the 24-place automated concentrator, which in standard practice removes 100ml of air from the canister for analysis. This portion proceeds through internal traps that remove water and CO2 and then cryofocus the sample at 160 degrees Celsius using liquid nitrogen. The sample is then flashed at 200 degrees Celsius onto a chromatography column that separates the analytes of interest. Detection of the analytes is performed using mass spectrometry. This allows us to quantify any or all of a predetermined set of 76 EPA TO-15 compounds or to qualitatively identify unknown contaminants against a library of over 75,000 compounds.

What types of air sampling canisters are available?

Extended sampling applications may require 6-liter canisters. For short-term (5-second to 30-hour) sampling we also offer a convenient, economical alternative: MiniCans. Our MiniCans come in 400-ml , 450-ml and 1-liter sizes. As sturdy and quiet as larger canisters, the lightweight MiniCans,which require no power supply, offer many advantages.

What are the advantages of MiniCans?
  • take up less space.
  • can attach to a workers belt for personal sampling.
  • reduce chance of losing light compounds (as with tubes and Tedlar bags).
  • stretch your shipping dollars. (You can send six MiniCans for the cost of one 6 Liter can.)
How do I learn more about canister sampling?

Air sampling canisters of all types are available through our FreePumpLoan™ program. To find out more, call one of our customer service representatives at (888) 432-LABS (5227).

YOUR LOCAL, GLOBAL LAB