Selective aqueous benzene detection at ppb level with portable sensor based on pervaporation extraction and UV-spectroscopy

AbstractThis paper describes a new portable aqueous benzene sensor that combines UV-spectroscopy detection and benzene extraction from the liquid to gas phase based on pervaporation through a silicone tube. Pervaporation through a silicone membrane provides chromatographic extraction of solutes with compound-dependent time constants, leading to separation of the different compounds at the detection stage. From a benzene/toluene/o-xylene mixture, we demonstrated a three-fold increase of the benzene/toluene ratio, resulting in a decrease of interferences between their overlapping absorption spectra. This aqueous benzene sensor combining portability, sensitivity in the ppb(v/v) range, and selectivity to benzene enables on-site measurements of benzene contamination and represents a potential alternative as an on-site early-alert benzene detection sensor