Sorbent Tubes For Solvent Extraction

SKC Sorbent Tubes have been trusted by hygienists and health and safety professionals for over 50 years with over 100 sorbent tubes for validated methods of sampling. Sorbent tube sampling is a NIOSH/OSHA approved method for collecting most contaminants from the air. Governing bodies have established permissible exposure limits (PELs) for workers' exposures to a variety of airborne chemical hazards. These limits are specified in several ways: eight-hour time-weighted averages (TWAs), Short-Term Exposure Limits (STELs), and Ceiling values. Eight-hour TWA limits are specified for full-shift exposures. STELs are usually issued as 15-minute exposure limits and ceiling values are issued as peak levels not to be exceeded at any time during the working day.  

Sorbent tubes have been established as a reliable tool for each of these sampling requirements. 

Sorbent tubes are extremely easy to use.  

1.  Collect sample with a sorbent tube.  

A sample is collected by opening a tube, connecting it to a sample pump, and pulling air through the tube with the pump. Airborne chemicals are trapped onto the surface of the sorbent. The tube is then sealed with push-on caps and sent to a laboratory for analysis. 

Lab personnel remove the sorbent and extract the trapped chemical using solvents or heat. 

The sample extracted from the tube is analysed to determine the amount of chemical hazard present. A single tube may provide enough sample to permit several analyses. 

SKC offers a complete family of sorbent tubes with over 100 sorbent tubes available for testing many chemical hazards including charcoal sorbent tubes and anasorb sorbent tubes for VOC sampling.