1 Scope
This document specifies a determination of formaldehyde (HCHO) and other carbonyl
compounds (aldehydes and ketones) in air. The method is specific to formaldehyde but,
with modification, at least 12 other aromatic as well as saturated and unsaturated
aliphatic carbonyl compounds can be detected and quantified. It is suitable for determination
of formaldehyde and other carbonyl compounds in the approximate concentration range
1 µg/m 3 to 1 mg/m 3 . The sampling method gives a time-weighted average (TWA) sample. It can be used for
long-term (1 h to 24 h) or short-term (5 min to 60 min) sampling of air for formaldehyde.
This document specifies a sampling and analysis procedure for formaldehyde and other
carbonyl compounds that involves collection from air on to adsorbent cartridges coated
with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) and subsequent analysis of the hydrazones formed
by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection by ultraviolet absorption [ 12 ],[ 16 ] . The method is not suitable for longer chained or unsaturated carbonyl compounds.
This document applies to the determination of:
acetaldehyde
acetone
benzaldehyde
butyraldehyde
...