Determination of aldehydes and ketones in natural gas combustion in the ppb range by high-performance liquid chromatography

The reported identification and determination of trace compounds in flue products of natural gas burning equipment is based on DNPH precolumn derivatization and followed by HPLC separation. The optimized HPLC analysis has been applied to the determination of trace amounts of aldehydes and ketones in polluted air such as lab and ambient air as well as natural gas and oil combustion products in a hospital. The results obtained in a hospital show that the oil fuel combustion process emits a considerable amount of toxic acrolein, whereas the emission of acetone is predominant in natural gas combustion.