A "dual-acceptor channel" membraneless gas-diffusion unit for simultaneous determination of ethanol and acetaldehyde in liquors using reverse flow injection

A new design of membraneless gas-diffusion unit with dual acceptor channels for separation, collection and simultaneous determination of two volatile analytes in liquid sample is presented. The unit is comprised of three parallel channels in a closed module. A sample is aspirated into the central channel and two kinds of reagents are introduced into the other two channels. Two analytes are isolated from the sample matrix by diffusion into head-space and absorbed into the specific reagents. Non-absorbed vapor is released by opening the programmable controlled lid. The unit was applied to liquors for measurement of ethanol and acetaldehyde using reverse flow injection. Dichromate and nitroprusside were exploited as reagents for colorimetric detection of ethanol and acetaldehyde, respectively. Good linearity ranges (r2 > 0.99) with high precision (RSD < 2%) and high accuracy (recovery: 90 - 105%) were achieved. The results were compared to the results by GC-FID and no significant difference was observed by paired t-test (95% confidence).