Publications by authors named "Ellen Weiner"
Underground storage tanks containing petroleum or other hazardous substances are used widely for residential storage of home heating oil. Spills and leaks of fuel from these tanks are common, and resulting subsurface petroleum vapors may pose health risks. However, understanding of this risk is limited by a lack of observational data on the chemical composition of vapors from discharged fuel.
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- Complex mixtures of hydrocarbons, commonly found in petroleum fuels and as environmental contaminants, pose challenges for detailed chemical analysis due to their intricate nature.
- A new analytical method was developed using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to categorize hydrocarbons by their structural groups, allowing for effective characterization of these mixtures without the need for advanced equipment.
- This method was validated against high-resolution techniques, showing strong agreement, and highlighted significant variations in hydrocarbon compositions in contaminated soil gas samples, indicating the presence of various oxygenated components.