Method and apparatus for optimized sampling of volatilizable target substances
US6802227B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 19, 2001 |
| Grant date | Oct 12, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 4, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N1/405
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus for capturing, from gases such as soil gas, target analytes. Target analytes may include emanations from explosive materials or from residues of explosive materials. The apparatus employs principles of sorption common to solid phase microextraction, and is best used in conjunction with analysis means such as a gas chromatograph. To sorb target analytes, the apparatus functions using various sorptive structures to capture target analyte. Depending upon the embodiment, those structures may include a capillary tube including an interior surface on which sorptive material (similar to that on the surface of a SPME fiber) is supported (along with means for moving gases through the capillary tube so that the gases come into close proximity to the sorptive material). In one disclosed embodiment, at least one such sorptive structure is associated with an enclosure including an opening in communication with the surface of a soil region potentially contaminated with buried explosive material such as unexploded ordnance. Emanations from explosive materials can pass into and accumulate in the enclosure where they are sorbed by the sorptive structures. Also disclosed is the use of h…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.