Environmental

The sensitive, selective and real-time analysis of SIFT-MS provides simple and continuous monitoring of trace VOCs in ambient air. SIFT-MS is suitable for use in the lab, in the field, or in mobile settings.  Learn about real-time solutions for ambient air measurement, fenceline monitoring and environmental mobile monitoring.

The high-speed analysis provided by SIFT-MS makes it ideally suited to continuous monitoring of ambient VOCs.  The SIFT-MS solution provides a robust, easily deployed and operated package for sensitive, quantitative real-time monitoring of a diverse range of VOCs and inorganic gases.

This study demonstrates the ease with which construction materials can be evaluated for their formaldehyde adsorption efficacy, by utilizing direct analysis with selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS). With this approach, merino wool is shown to be extremely effective in adsorbing formaldehyde from air.

The selective, sensitive, rapid, and robust analysis provided by SIFT-MS makes it uniquely suited to outdoor air quality monitoring.  SIFT-MS enables potential environmental incidents to be detected, identified, and remedied quickly, before they escalate to social or regulatory issues.

SIFT-MS provides unique capabilities for environmental applications including ambient air measurement, mobile monitoring, emissions detection, and odor assessment.  Its real-time detection of VOCs and inorganic compounds is highly sensitive, selective, chromatography-free, and easy to use. 

This webinar discusses chemical and sensory-like analysis of wastewater treatment by SIFT-MS.  After introducing sensory and instrumental analysis of odor, it covers a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) case study in detail, critiquing both instrumental and sensory methods available to this market.

SIFT-MS provides rapid and comprehensive analysis of landfill gas, making it ideally suited to the complete range of environmental and industrial applications.

This webinar describes continuous environmental monitoring applications and presents a variety of case studies, including:

• Fenceline monitoring
• Real-time stack gas analysis
• Odor characterization at the source
• Continuous odor monitoring

This webcast focuses on case studies that demonstrate simple analysis of chromatographically challenging compounds. Formaldehyde receives special attention, as it is important across a wide range of industries (from environmental to pharmaceutical testing).

In this application note, we demonstrate high-throughput analysis of BTEX compounds in air, water and soil.  We demonstrate how SIFT-MS enables excellent differentiation of the ethylbenzene isomer from the xylene isomers using known O2+ reagent ion chemistry for both air and water.  This approach can be applied in real-time and in high throughput applications.

In this application note, SIFT-MS is evaluated for odor source characterization at a gelatin factory, together with benchmarking of the effectiveness of an ultraviolet (UV) photolysis technology used for odor mitigation. SIFT-MS is very effective in both applications due to its wide dynamic range, trace-level sensitivity, real-time detection, and lack of requirement for sample prep or pre-concentration.

This webinar describes the use of SIFT-MS for air quality monitoring and describes a case study of its application during an air quality monitoring campaign in Hanoi, Vietnam.  We are joined by Dr. Marvin Shaw of the National Center of Atmospheric Science, UK who discusses the results of this study. 

In this webinar, we demonstrate the advantages of using automated SIFT-MS to analyze volatiles in diverse matrices: from air samples to the headspace of polymers, soil and water samples. Formaldehyde and the BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the xylenes) will be utilized in various case studies. In addition, high-throughput thermal desorption-SIFT-MS and real-time thermal extraction-SIFT-MS are presented for the first time.

SIFT-MS provides direct, rapid sample analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with no or minimal sample prep required. When coupled with autosampler technology, SIFT-MS yields very high sample throughput (in excess of 100 samples per hour), including for challenging compounds like ammonia, formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide.  Learn how this direct mass spec technology serves a range of industries, from environmental analysis to food testing to pharma.

The combination of SIFT-MS and a GERSTEL autosampler provides automated analysis of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the xylenes (BTEX) sampled from ambient air using thermal desorption tubes. This application note demonstrates the repeatability and sensitivity possible with automated thermal desorption (TD)-SIFT-MS. Automated TD-SIFT-MS provides sample throughput >3 three-fold higher than conventional TD-gas chromatography methods.

Learn how you can adopt direct mass spectrometry in your routine analysis workflow.  Adaptation of routine procedures and techniques to automated SIFT-MS will be illustrated with case studies applicable to environmental, consumer product and biomedical laboratory testing. In particular, a head-to-head comparison of GC/MS and SIFT-MS for headspace analysis of volatiles in blood plasma will be described.

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) combined with GERSTEL automation greatly simplifies analysis of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the xylenes (BTEX) in water. This application note demonstrates the linearity, repeatability and sensitivity achievable with automated SIFT-MS. Automated static headspace (SH)-SIFT-MS provides sample throughputs at least three-fold higher than traditional purge-and-trap-gas chromatography methods.

Combining direct analysis using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) and automated sample preparation, determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and the xylenes (BTEX) in soil via methanolic extraction is simplified and accelerated. This application note provides an initial validation of the automated SIFT-MS method and demonstrates that the sample throughput achievable with SIFT-MS is at least two-fold higher than gas chromatography (GC).

This webinar introduces environmental applications of SIFT-MS ranging from real-time ambient air monitoring to high-throughput soil and water analysis.  Learn how diverse VOCs (such as benzene and formaldehyde) and inorganic gases (such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide) are detected in a single, simple analysis.

Our Mobile Analysis Solution takes rapid, accurate volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis out of the laboratory and allows it to be deployed at multiple sites.  By taking our latest VOC analysis technology and making it vehicle based, Syft provides the ideal mobile solution for contract analysis services or anyone needing rapid sample analysis at multiple locations.

In this webinar, we describe applications of SIFT-MS to diverse process and specialty gas applications.  The strength of SIFT-MS lies in the combination of four factors that other techniques lack:

• Rapid analysis
• Comprehensive compound detection, including highly reactive species
• Selectivity
• Simple, low-cost operation

SIFT-MS is able to monitor a wide range of organic and inorganic species in real-time at trace levels, including such analytically challenging species such as ammonia, formaldehyde, and hydrogen sulfide.  This webinar presents various mobile environmental monitoring applications.

Can SIFT-MS replace GC/MS as the analyzer in a method that uses methanolic extraction? The answer is yes!  Dr. Mark Perkins presents the results of method validation for methanolic extraction of BTEX from soil, and applies the method to analysis of several certified reference materials (CRMs).

This webinar describes the work of Doctors Mitch Rubenstein and Anthony Qualley, USAF, Dayton OH whose team develops new sampling media that can collect multiple classes of organic compounds.  SIFT-MS was used to observe a wide array of compounds that normally would require a large number of techniques. We show data for amino alcohols, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, etc. SIFT-MS also allowed the observation of low molecular weight compounds such as methanol and formaldehyde that would normally fall outside the range of conventional mass spectrometry. Cleared for public distribution: 88ABW-2020-2280.

In this online demonstration we present a new capability that takes advantage of the latest developments in IOT and cloud-based data management to provide a simple and highly configurable internet-based notification system, for example via SMS and/or email alerts.  Fenceline monitoring is one application where immediate notification of concentration variances is desirable and Syft continues to develop new tools to provide this functionality for our customers.

We are joined by Rebecca Wagner of Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratory at the University of York, United Kingdom.  At the University of York, a SIFT-MS instrument has been placed inside a mobile laboratory to measure the emission of atmospheric gases that contribute to air pollution. Hear the results of their study into local emission sources.

In this webinar we discuss how SIFT-MS can be used to selectively quantify VOC real-time concentrations and emissions in both ambient and indoor air environments in order to characterize the sources and sinks of individual VOCs.

This webinar describes how SIFT-MS provides more accurate quantitation of VOC emissions which can be used to support the development of regulatory policies.

In this webinar, we describe the wide range of environmental monitoring applications in which SIFT-MS is employed. We discuss its utility in the following areas:

• Atmospheric research
• Ambient monitoring
• Fenceline and source monitoring
• Environmental analysis “on the move”
• Odor analysis
• Soil and water analysis

This webcast describes how SIFT-MS is readily applied to the demanding requirements of real-time ambient air monitoring applications.  Air quality applications discussed in the webcast are:

• Routine ambient air quality monitoring
• Autonomous air monitoring in the field (a case study from China comparing SIFT-MS air quality monitoring with GC-FID)
• Eddy covariance measurements

This webinar focuses on the benefits realized by adopting SIFT-MS in environmental testing laboratories, which include reduced sample preparation and increased sample throughput.

Five case studies are presented:

• Soil analysis
• Water headspace analysis
• Formaldehyde analysis using sample bags
• Canister analysis
• Landfill and biogas analysis

Become acquainted with TD-SIFT-MS through the analysis of environmental BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) from multiple sorbent tubes. This demonstration will address the following; - What makes this approach unique? - What does “real-time” thermal desorption data look like? - How is the automation and processing software operated? - How fast is it?

Mark describes how the ICH Q 2 (R1) guidelines can be readily applied to SIFT-MS methods, whether in scenarios where only the analytical technique is changed or for tasks that pose a unique analytical challenge. He presents case studies for two such scenarios: 1) methanolic extraction of BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene plus xylenes) from soil, 2) direct analysis of formaldehyde leaching into single-use pharmaceutical devices from polymeric components.

Combining the power of direct analysis using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFTMS) and GERSTEL automation, headspace analysis of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water is greatly simplified. This application note demonstrates the linearity and and repeatability achievable with automated SIFT-MS. The sample throughput achievable with SIFTMS is at least three-fold higher than traditional purge-and-trap gas chromatography methods.

We asked Mike McGinley, President, St. Croix Sensory, Inc. about his experience using SIFT-MS.  Hear what he had to say about the speed of analysis and flexibility inherent to Syft's product solutions.

Automated headspace-SIFT-MS analysis can classify pelleted recycled HDPE at throughputs over 230 samples per day, offering great potential for rapid screening of recycled packaging materials.

Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) is a revolutionary direct mass spectrometric technology for continuous, sensitive, selective, and robust analysis of diverse chemical species in air. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — such as benzene, ammonia, and formaldehyde — and inorganic gases such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are detected simultaneously and continuously in real time.  Watch the webinar to discover why SIFT-MS is well suited to air quality monitoring both in a mobile deployment scenario and for fence line monitoring.

This app note introduces the next generation of SIFT-MS, Syft Tracer^TM, which launched at Pittcon 2023.  It revolutionizes volatile impurities analysis workflows through unparalleled speed, performance stability, and reproducibility.  Learn about how this innovation to real-time trace gas detection outpaces chromatography-based methods in the analysis of challenging analytes such as formaldehyde in a PEG excipient.

SIFT‐MS is now recognized as the most versatile analytical technique for the identification and quantification of trace gases down to the parts‐per‐trillion by volume, pptv, range. This statement is supported by the wide reach of its applications, from real‐time analysis, obviating sample collection of very humid exhaled breath, to its adoption in industrial scenarios for air quality monitoring. This review touches on the recent extensions to the underpinning ion chemistry kinetics library and the alternative challenge of using nitrogen carrier gas instead of helium. 

SIFT-MS has been widely applied to quantitative analysis of a broad range of VOCs in applications from food products to workplace safety to environmental monitoring, and most recently to pharmaceutical testing. This review surveys the applications of SIFT-MS in odor analysis and in workplace, environmental and consumer protection, with a particular focus on the complementarity of this real-time mass spectrometry analyzer to sensor technology and conventional laboratory techniques—in particular, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Join us for this webinar to learn about Syft Tracer, the latest advancement of real-time, trace gas analysis by SIFT-MS which launched at Pittcon 2023. Hear how the recent product innovations unlock analytical bottlenecks and enable faster decisions to be made in critical process steps.

Syft Tracer^TM is the latest advancement in real-time, direct injection mass spectrometry (MS) built to solve the most difficult analytical challenges faced within a variety of industries and applications.  This advancement to SIFT-MS delivers trace-level detection sensitivity, unparalleled performance stability, superior selectivity, and highly reproducible, quantitative data.  Syft Tracer is optimized for high-throughput environments where continuous operation is the standard.  Never miss a product or environmental contamination event again.

This application note describes a scenario in which Syft Tracer^TM analyzed the same amount of samples in 9 hours that it took 5 chromatographic systems 24 hours to complete and still had capacity to spare. Next-gen SIFT-MS provides rapid, chromatography-free workflows which revolutionize volatile compound analysis. 

This study demonstrates high-throughput analysis of BTEX compounds from several matrices (air, water and soil). Detection limits in the single-digit part-per-billion concentration range (by volume) are readily achievable within seconds using SIFT-MS, because sample analysis is achieved without chromatography, pre-concentration, or drying.  We also present a calibration approach that enables speciation of ethylbenzene from the xylenes in real time.

This application brief summarizes a scenario relevant to contract research organization (CRO) and contract drug manufacturing organization (CDMO) laboratories where multiple volatile impurity methods need to be conducted in short runs. Five analyses are considered that can be handled by one Syft Tracer but require multiple legacy, chromatography instruments. For these analyses, SIFT-MS reports the first quantitative results 2- to 12-fold faster, and has sample throughputs 3- to 17-fold higher than the conventional procedures.

In this application note, the performance of SIFT-MS is evaluated for analysis of odors from diverse sources at a modern wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). SIFT-MS provides comprehensive, quantitative profiling of odor sources and can identify operational abnormalities.  In particular, the results presented demonstrate that methyl mercaptan is almost always a more significant odorant at this WWTP than hydrogen sulfide and confirm that the relative abundances of these odorants vary significantly.

The characteristic flexibility, stability, high throughput, and fast time to data of the Syft Tracer next-gen SIFT-MS instrument apply across multiple headspace approaches for diverse matrices. This application note briefly summarizes the use of (1) dissolution, (2) multiple headspace extraction (MHE), and (3) the method of standard additions, then provides a guide for identifying the appropriate headspace approach for various matrices.

This application note demonstrates that SIFT-MS effectively classifies paper samples by odor intensity rating and odor descriptor, in addition to distinguishing paper composition and mill of origin. When integrated with autosamplers, SIFT-MS provides throughputs of over 220 samples per day, supporting significantly enhanced quality assurance compared to conventional human sensory panels and gas chromatography-based analyses.

This E-book describes how next gen SIFT-MS enables rapid, continuous screening of toxic volatile impurities in pharmaceutical and consumer products. This advancement to SIFT-MS delivers trace-level detection sensitivity, unparalleled performance stability, superior selectivity, and highly reproducible, quantitative data. Never miss a contamination event again. 

In this on-demand webinar, Michael McGinley, President, St. Croix Sensory, describes how SIFT-MS has advanced their ability to rapidly perform odor analysis. A variety of SIFT-MS-based odor applications correlated with conventional sensory panel assessment are presented.  Learn how Syft is Simply. Faster. for the analysis of odor compounds.

This application note investigates concentration dependence of MHE calibration in sample matrix.  Across the full range of analytes investigated in this study, MHE calibration holds for at least one order of magnitude change in sample concentration.  For analytes in the C7–C9 range, the MHE calibration applies over two orders of magnitude analyte concentration. These results mean that the MHE workflow can be applied to a wider range of samples in the matrix, further reducing calibration demand.

This application note summarizes key SIFT-MS results obtained and conclusions made in a peer reviewed open-access article entitled “Unreported VOC Emissions from Road Transport Including from Electric Vehicles.”  Learn how the Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratory at the University of York used SIFT-MS for VOC analysis in its platform to experimentally verify – for the first time – that motor vehicle screen wash is a significant unreported source of VOC emissions (especially for ethanol and methanol). 

In this application note, the SIFT-MS is evaluated for odor analysis at a gelatin factory, together with benchmarking of the effectiveness of an ultraviolet (UV) photolysis technology used for odor mitigation. SIFT-MS is very effective in both applications.  The high-sensitivity, direct analysis eliminates preconcentration, derivatization, and the need for analysis on multiple chromatographic columns that complicate odor analysis in gas and liquid chromatography methods.

This publication reviews VOC pollutant monitoring applications of SIFT-MS in South Korea.  SIFT-MS has been applied to emission source characterization, fenceline monitoring, ambient monitoring, pollution mapping, and incident response (including the use of drone-based sampling) for hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), odor nuisance species, and compounds that have high ozone formation potential (OFP) and/or contribute to secondary aerosol (SOA) formation.

This talk showcases environmental and food safety applications where SIFT-MS overcomes limitations of traditional chromatographic approaches resulting in faster time to data, significantly higher throughput, and more accurate determination of product and environmental contaminants.  Mobile and fenceline environmental use cases from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, and Korea are presented.

This video describes the bleed air study led by AeroParts in Oct 2023 to understand the differences in VOC ozone converter performance.   VOC ozone converters have the potential for preventing airplane cabin smoke odor fume events.  Learn how SIFT-MS enabled this important study by providing real-time VOC analysis of simulated engine bleed air.

This presentation from Dr. Leslie Silva at Pittcon 2024 describes preliminary work that demonstrates the ability of SIFT-MS to analyze volatile PFAS compounds in real-time.  The use of negative reagent ions gives SIFT-MS a distinct selectivity advantage over competing technologies and legacy chromatographic methods.

In this presentation from Analytica 2024, Marino Beenhakker and Dr. David Muller describe environmental and consumer product applications of next-gen SIFT-MS including ambient air monitoring in New Zealand and PFAS measurement in consumer goods. 

Syft Explorer is a comprehensive solution for making real-time mass spec measurements anywhere on-site.  It includes next-gen SIFT-MS, onboard clean dry air, and automatic power management bundled in a mobile format.  Never miss a contamination event again!

We asked Geraint Morgan, Research Fellow at The Open University, about his experience using SIFT-MS.  He discusses how his Syft Tracer has opened up new ways of looking at samples that are difficult to analyze by traditional methods such as formaldehyde and other aldehydes. 

Method detection limits (MDLs) have been determined for the newly regulated HON (Hazardous Organic NESHAP (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants)) compounds, which validate selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) as an effective solution for measuring these toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other environmental pollutants in ambient air, whether at the fenceline or in a mobile setting. SIFT-MS offers unparalleled speed, sensitivity and ease of use for environmental monitoring applications.

SyftEnviro environmental monitoring software is a comprehensive solution for visualizing SIFT-MS data collected during mobile monitoring campaigns.  It provides a complete interface for collecting, mapping, and analyzing environmental data.  It allows you to identify emissions sources with confidence and take immediate corrective action.

SyftEnviro software provides a comprehensive interface for collecting, mapping, and analyzing data from SIFT-MS real-time mobile monitoring campaigns. Quantitative SIFT-MS data can be geospatially mapped while on the move in a mobile lab. SyftEnviro integrates environmental data into a single user-friendly interface that includes modules for data visualization, instrument control, and status updates. Watch this brief video for a preview.

View the plenary talk given on August 23rd at IMSC 2024 in Melbourne, Australia by Dr. Vaughan Langford entitled, "SIFT-MS: Ion-Molecule Chemistry Coupled with Mass Spectrometry for Real-World Applications." Learn about the history of SIFT-MS and the ion chemistry that makes real-time trace gas analysis possible.

Read about Syft's latest developments, applications, product releases and events over the past quarter.  Learn about our real-time solutions for environmental monitoring, detecting nitrosamines in aqueous solutions, and much more!

This app note describes how SIFT-MS was used to measure short-lived odor species given off by a blooming titan arum flower during the spring of 2024. Seven odorous VOCs were identified from full-scan data taken from within the blooming flower and compared with air surrounding the flower from three days prior to bloom. Results suggest that dimethyl disulfide is responsible for the constant mild stink that the flower gives off, while the other VOCs that were elevated only when in bloom are responsible for the rotting flesh characteristic commonly described with this type of flower.

This whitepaper highlights the exceptional reproducibility of Syft Technologies' SIFT-MS instruments, showcasing fleet performance across legacy and latest-generation platforms. By comparing standardized analytical methods on multiple instruments, it demonstrates high consistency in trace gas quantitation with 95% confidence intervals below 21% for the Syft Tracer and 38% for legacy devices. The findings emphasize Syft's commitment to advancing reliable, real-time analysis solutions for diverse applications.

This application note highlights the innovative use of SIFT-MS for real-time mapping of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial complexes. Learn how mobile laboratories enable on-the-move spatial data acquisition, improving response times to pollution incidents and enhancing environmental and public health monitoring.

This application note showcases an innovative approach used in South Korea, where fenceline monitoring and mobile laboratories equipped with SIFT-MS enable rapid, on-site analysis of volatile pollutants. Learn how this powerful combination delivers precise, real-time data to trace emissions back to their sources with unmatched efficiency.

This technical note details an optimized gas-phase calibration workflow for automated SIFT-MS. It highlights the benefits of automation in streamlining calibration procedures, reducing hazardous solvent use, and improving efficiency in volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis. The document outlines a step-by-step approach for single- and two-step dilution methods, instrument configurations, and data processing techniques. By minimizing reliance on costly third-party calibration standards, this method enhances sustainability and operational cost-effectiveness.

This app note explores real-time monitoring of ozone photochemical precursors, including VOCs and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). Unlike traditional air quality monitoring methods, SIFT-MS enables rapid, continuous analysis with high sensitivity. Integrated with SyftEnviro software, this technology streamlines data collection, visualization, and interpretation, providing a powerful tool for environmental monitoring, air quality management, and regulatory compliance.

This application note showcases SIFT-MS for mobile monitoring of odor pollutants using SyftEnviro software for simple, reliable data collection. Aligning with China’s T/ACEF 156 – 2024 guidelines, it bridges the gap between objective chemical analysis and human odor perception for better odor impact assessment and regulatory compliance.