Safety, thermal desorption

HSE (1995) Volatile Organic Compounds in Air-Laboratory Method Using Diffusive Solid Sorbent Tubes, Thermal Desorption and Gas Chromatography, MDHS 80, Health and Safety Executive, Bootle, UK. 

Volatile compounds in the atmosphere, workplace and on industrial sites need to be monitored with regard to safety considerations, e.g. emissions to the atmosphere, or occupational standards. These volatile compounds, e.g. BTEX, can be trapped either on a solid support material (e.g. for thermal desorption), or liberated from a water sample and then trapped (e.g. via purge-and-trap), prior to analysis. 

The physical and chemical removal of oil spills can often be successful, but mostly expensive. We can mention soil incineration, soil vapor extraction and thermal desorption methods, all of which are very expensive and destructive (Hyman, 1999). Besides that the primary goal of remediation is the preservation of public health and safety, it is necessary to carry out the remediation in a cost-effective manner to keep the owner/operator of the site in business and out of bankruptcy court. In this case, biodegradation by natural population of microorganisms or bioremediation, is often considered as the primary mechanism because of its low cost and effectiveness in ambient conditions. The scientific basis is biochemical conversion of organic chemicals by bacteria and fungus in natural processes. 

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