Quantification of odorous compounds associated with livestock odors has been difficult
in the past due to sensitivity limitations of available instrumentation. Advances in
instrumentation have helped to some extent although for many potential contributors to
malodor instrumental detection limits still exceed that of the human nose. Equally
important to instrumentation development in quantification efforts is the selection of the
method used to capture, transport, and analyze air samples. Solvent extraction and
solid phase microextraction (SPME) were compared for their ability to adsorb
compounds in air samples collected from livestock facilities (n = 128). Sampling
occurred from August – September 2000 and again from May – June 2001. Five
different solvent extraction tubes, in duplicate, were used, each comprised of different
materials thereby having affinity for various compound classes. Tube contents were
extracted using both hexane and methanol to represent the range in solvent materials.
The SPME samplers used were coated with carboxen and polydimethylsiloxane.
Results showed that adsorption of air to a single SPME sampler eluted more
compounds than that observed from the combination of all five solvent extraction tubes.
The SPME fibers, although more expensive than the solvent tubes, are reusable and
require less labor in addition to avoiding the accumulation of solvent materials that
require proper disposal.