Techniques for Optimizing GC Analysis of Ethylene Glycol in Water

The analysis of ethylene glycol in water is a very common test in environmental laboratories. Because ethylene glycol is highly soluble in water, it is not easily concentrated by purge and trap. This application note presents techniques for the GC analysis of ethylene glycol in water using direct injection with a Uniliner® liner, a polar capillary column, such as a Stabilwax® column, and multiple syringe washes between runs. Using these techniques can assist in attaining reproducible analyses with detection limits in the low ppm range.