Analysis system and method for detecting volatile organic compounds in liquid

A method of detecting a volatile organic compound in a liquid sample, comprising:

• conducting a volatile organic compound detection process by controlling a volatile organic compound detection assembly, the volatile organic compound detection assembly enclosed within a housing assembly, the housing assembly comprising an input for inputting the liquid sample from a liquid source external to the housing assembly, wherein the volatile organic compound detection process comprises:
• sparging the liquid sample with a sparging assembly enclosed within the housing assembly;
• collecting the volatile organic compound with a preconcentrator assembly enclosed within the housing assembly;
• desorbing the volatile organic compound from the preconcentrator assembly enclosed within the housing assembly;
• separating the volatile organic compound as desorbed from the preconcentrator assembly with a gas chromatograph column assembly enclosed within the housing assembly;
• and
• detecting the mass of the volatile organic compound separated by the gas chromatograph column assembly with a surface acoustic wave detector enclosed within the housing assembly;
• and
• controlling a thermal control assembly enclosed in the housing assembly, the thermal control assembly comprising a fan and a heat exchanger assembly, the control of the thermal control assembly comprising:
• operating the fan within the housing assembly to circulate air enclosed within the housing, the volatile organic compound detection assembly in a path of the circulating air;
• and
• controlling a temperature of the circulating air with the heat exchanger assembly.

An analysis system, comprising:

• a housing main body;
• a cover removably attached to the main body and enclosing an interior of the housing assembly from an ambient environment in which the analysis system is located;
• a volatile organic compound detection assembly enclosed in the enclosure of the housing assembly, the volatile organic compound detection assembly configured to detect a volatile organic compound in a liquid sample;
• a backplate enclosed in the housing main body and arranged in a central or offset location therein to provide an air gap on each side of the backplate, the backplate comprising cutouts at top and bottom locations of the backplate, each cutout providing an air passage between the air gaps;
• a fan enclosed in the housing main body and arranged to circulate the air enclosed within the housing assembly;
• and
• a heat exchanger assembly enclosed in the housing main body and configured to control a temperature of the circulating air,
• wherein at least a portion of the volatile organic compound detection assembly is mounted to the backplate and the heat exchanger assembly is mounted to an opposite side of the backplate to which the at least a portion of the volatile organic compound detection assembly is mounted.