US EPA

2745070 

Journal Article 

Gas Chromatographic Determination Of Amines In Aqueous Solution 

Arad, Y; Levy, M; Vofsi, D 

1964 

1 

Journal of Chromatography
ISSN: 0021-9673 

NIOSH/00132722 

13 

565-567 

A gas chromatographic procedure was developed for the determination of amines in aqueous solution. The procedure was based on the use of a highly polar stationary phase to retard the water and increase the time available for the chromatographic separation of low boiling compounds. A gas chromatograph with a thermal conductivity detector was used and helium was the carrier gas. The column was a copper spiral 2.5 meters long, 5 millimeters inner diameter, packed with 20 percent carbowax 20M coated with 5 percent potassium-hydroxide on Chromosorb-W, 30 to 60 mesh. Aqueous solutions of allylamine (107119), propylamine (107108), butylamine (109739), di-n-butylamine (111922), and benzylamine (100469) were prepared. Five microliters of the solution were injected into the column, which was kept at 70 degrees-C. After the elution of the three lower amines in order of carbon number, programming was started and column temperature was raised to 180 degrees at a rate of 10 degrees per minute. The other peaks were eluted in the following order: di-n-butylamine, water, benzylamine. The average error did not exceed 2.5 percent although maximum errors of about 10 percent were recorded in some cases. The method was applied to the analysis of propylamine in a complex mixture containing nitriles. The determination of propylamine by the method gave reproducible results within the limits of 2.5 percent. The nitriles were determined on a separate column. The authors conclude that this method is suitable for the determination of simple amines in aqueous solution.