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Comparison of Instrument Characteristics on the Total Organic Carbon Analysis Method in Water Samples

  • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
  • Abbr : J EIA
  • 2023, 32(5), pp.353-362
  • Publisher : Korean Society Of Environmental Impact Assessment
  • Research Area : Engineering > Environmental Engineering
  • Received : September 18, 2023
  • Accepted : October 5, 2023
  • Published : October 30, 2023

Hye-Sung Kim 1 Eun-Tae Hwang 2 Chan-Geun Lee 3 Cho, Young-cheol 1

1충북대학교
2FITI 시험연구원
3(재)FITI시험연구원

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ABSTRACT

TOC, which can measure more than 90% of organic substances, can be measured quickly and easily,replacing BOD and COD, which were indicators of organic pollutants. According to water quality pollution control standards, when measuring TOC, if the inorganic carbon ratio in the sample is over 50%, the NPOC (Non-Purgeable Organic Carbon) method should be used. If volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present at a certain concentration, the TC-IC (subtracting inorganic carbon from total carbon) method should be used. To validate the limitations of these analytical conditions, experiments were conducted by varying the ratio of TOC to IC in purified water and measuring the concentration of TOC in test solutions. The results showed no significant difference between the TCIC method and the NPOC method. When measuring samples with added VOC standard solutions, it was observed that the carbon loss due to purging was not significant when using the NPOC method. Therefore, it is concluded that the choice of analytical method does not lead to significant differences when VOCs are present in the sample. To account for potential variations in results based on water quality pollution control standards and regulations regarding the approval and testing of environmental measurement devices, a comparison of field sample concentration values was made using two widely used types of TOC analyzers in Korea. The results showed variations of 0.02 to 0.83 mg/L between methods depending on the manufacturer, highlighting the need for caution when selecting an instrument.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.