Volatile Extraction Market

The volatile extraction market consists of three techniques: purge and trap, headspace, and thermal desorption equipment. These systems are often employed as a sampling method for gas chromatography (GC) instrumentation but are also used with IR detectors, electrochemical sensors of electronic noses, and mass spectrometers.

Separation Instrumentation Demand

The volatile extraction market is primarily a systems market with purge and trap accounting for the largest market share. Purge and trap involves the bubbling of an inert gas, such as nitrogen or helium, through an aqueous sample, which liberates the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are either dissolved in the sample or present in a solid sample that is then suspended in the aqueous sample. Purge and trap technology enables GC and GC–MS systems to achieve lower levels of detection. Headspace, however, is the most common volatile extraction technique in terms of units sold. Industries with the highest demand for headspace extraction are chemical, forensics, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and environmental testing.

Thermal desorption systems are efficient and highly sensitive. But, shortcomings of the technology have limited its market share. Still, thermal desorbers are widely used for environmental testing, often in the monitoring of air quality, chemical exposures in workplaces, and identifying fragrances and other ingredients. Thermal desoprtion systems are especially common in countries where environmental monitoring is of greater concern such as China and part of Latin America. Most GC vendors manufacture volatile extraction equipment or they have OEM arrangements with volatile extraction vendors in order to offer complete analytical solutions to their customers.

The foregoing data was extracted from SDi's “Market Brief on Volatile Extraction.” For more information, contact Glenn Cudiamat, VP of Research Services, Strategic Directions International, Inc., 6242 Westchester Parkway, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045, tel. (310) 641-4982, fax (310) 641-8851, e-mail cudiamat@strategic-directions.com.