Extraction of formic and acetic acids from aqueous solution by dynamic headspace-needle trap extraction: Temperature and pH optimization

A combined method of dynamic headspace-needle trap sample preparation and gas chromatography for the determination of formic and acetic acids in aqueous solution was developed in this study. A needle extraction device coupled with a gas aspirating pump was intended to perform sampling and preconcentration of target compounds from aqueous sample before gas chromatographic analysis. The needle trap extraction (NTE) technique allows for the successful sampling of short chain fatty acids under dynamic conditions while keeping the headspace (HS) volume constant. Two important parameters, including extraction temperature and effect of acidification, have been optimized and evaluated using the needle trap device. The method detection limits for the compounds estimated were 87.2 μg/L for acetic acid and 234.8 μg/L for formic acid in spite of the low flame ionization detection response for formic acid and its low Henry's law constant in aqueous solution. Precision was determined based on the two real samples and ranged between 4.7 and 10.7%. The validated headspace-needle trap extraction method was also successfully applied to several environmental samples.