ABSTRACT
Gas Chromatography (GC) is the most common analytical technique for the quantitative determination of organic pollutants in aqueous and nonaqueous samples. A variety of GC columns are commercially available to meet the specific purpose. This chapter discusses the selection of columns, their stationary phases, inside diameters, lengths, and the film thickness. A capillary column is usually preferred over a packed column for better resolution and lower detection limit. Halogen-specific detectors, such as the electron capture detector (ECD) and Hall electrolytic conductivity detector (HECD) show the best response to compounds that contain halogen atoms. Calibration is performed in two ways: the external standard method and internal standard method. The internal standard method is more reliable than the external standard method. Routine GC analysis for environmental samples involve running one of the calibration check standards before sample analysis to determine if the area or height response is constant.
