A gas chromatography quartz crystal microbalance for speciation of nitroaromatic compounds in landfill gas.

A new method based on separation with gas chromatography and detection with a quartz crystal microbalance was used for quantification of nitrobenzene, 2-, 3- and 4-nitrotoluene in landfill gas. The analytical error, the analysis time and general analytical performance were identical for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-quartz crystal microbalance (GC-QCM). GC-QCM constitutes a very inexpensive alternative to GC-MS for monitoring nitroaromatic compounds in landfill gas.