Pyrolysis-GC/MS fingerprinting of environmental samples

This paper describes four recent applications of analytical pyrolysis in environmental science and engineering. In all applications, samples were analyzed in order to provide information about the origin of organic matter or changes to an organic matrix. In the first application, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and pyrolysis-GC/flame ionization detection (FID) were used to help classify the origin of natural organic matter (NOM) buried in the Antarctic. In the second application, pyrolysis-GC/MS was used to compare the recalcitrance of NOM to biological degradation. In the third application, pyrolysis-GC/FID was used to quantitatively differentiate between lipogenic NOM and petroleum contamination in highly organic soil. In the fourth application, pyrolysis-GC/MS was used to fingerprint organic matter in water samples to help describe the relationship between surface water, groundwater and springs in a complex watershed. In all applications the benefits of analytical pyrolysis are still being discovered. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.