Determination of phthalates in plum spirit and their occurrence during plum spirit production

Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that, due to their lipophilicity, migrate more readily into beverages with higher ethanol content. The aim of this work was to study the occurrence of phthalates in samples during the plum spirit production and in the final product, plum spirit manufactured by registered producers from five European countries, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A decreasing trend of mean values was observed for diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP), and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) as the distillation process went on. Levels of benzyl-butyl phthalate (BBP) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) increased in the distillation phase compared to concentrations in the preceding phases. In commercial plum spirits, DEHP and DiBP were detected in the highest concentrations. Results also indicated that a moderate daily consumption of plum spirit does not pose a health risk regarding the Tolerable Daily Intake of BBP, DEHP, and DB

Usporedba dinamičke analize para iznad otopine i mikroekstrakcije analita na čvrstoj fazi za plinskokromatografsko određivanje BTEX-a u urinu

The aim of this study was to compare two extraction procedures: dynamic headspace-purge and trap (PT) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) for gas chromatographic determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and isomeric xylenes (BTEX) in urine with photoionization (PID) and mass spectrometric (MS) detection, respectively. Both methods showed linearity in the range of interest [(50-2000) ng L-1], good accuracy (80% to 100 %), and repeatability (RSD≤11 %). Detection limits were in the low ng L-1 level for both methods, although slightly greater sensitivity was found for the PT method. In comparison with PT, HS-SPME was simpler and required less time for analysis. Although the analytical features of both examined methods are appropriate for biomonitoring of environmental exposure to BTEX, only the HS-SPME-GC-MS method is recommended for routine analysis of BTEX in urine. The method was applied for the quantitative analysis of BTEX in urine samples collected from non-smokers (n=10) and smokers (n=10).Cilj ovog rada bio je usporediti dva postupka ekstrakcije za plinskokromatografsko određivanje benzena, toluena, etilbenzena i izomera ksilena u urinu. Uspoređene su dinamička analiza para iznad otopine (tzv. purge and trap) uz fotoionizacijski detektor i mikroekstrakcija analita na čvrstoj fazi uz detektor spektrometar masa. Rezultati upućuju na linearnost odziva detektora u ispitivanome koncentracijskom području [(50- 2000) ng L-1], zadovoljavajuću točnost (80 %-100 %) i ponovljivost (RSD ≤11 %). Postignute su niske granice detekcije za obje metode. Mikroekstrakcija analita na čvrstoj fazi uz detektor spektrometar masa pokazala se jednostavnijom i bržom za izvođenje pa se preporučuje za rutinsko određivanje BTEX-a u urinu. Metoda je primijenjena za analizu tih spojeva u uzorcima urina nepušača (n=10) i pušača (n=10)

10.34: Creep properties of grade S275JR steel at high temperature

The paper describes an ongoing research project which aims to determine the creep properties of European steel Grade 275JR. The purpose of the research is to develop a reliable temperature‐, stress‐ and time‐dependent creep model for this alloy, since there is very little information available in the scientific community regarding its creep properties. The research within the project is focused on a series of stationary creep tests, which will be used to obtain time‐dependent creep strains in the temperature range 400–600°C. The stress range for which the creep evolution is studied in this project is between 25% and 90% of the value of the stress at 0.2% strain at any particular temperature level. Comparisons between the creep output for the alloy analysed and existing creep data are presented in the paper