Astromat

This study applies gas chromatography–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) to analyze volatile and pyrolysis-derived organic compounds released from activated-carbon filter sample OREX-103001-60. These samples represent processed filter materials collected for assessment of organic contamination backgrounds. Each sample was analyzed using thermal desorption at 200 C and pyrolysis at 600 C to obtain the Carbon isotope signature of weakly bound volatiles and thermally generated decomposition products. Sample preparation involved isolating activated-carbon fragments, weighing approximately 3 mg, and loading them into prebaked quartz tubes packed with combusted quartz wool. A Frontier Lab microfurnace pyrolyzer interfaced to an Agilent GCMS system was used for all analyses. The thermal desorption runs primarily released low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons and oxygenated volatiles (e.g, isopropanol, acetone, and phenol), with isotopoe varying between -22 permil to -28 permil. While pyrolysis generated a broader suite of decomposition products, including small hydrocarbons, aromatics, and nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygenbearing compounds, with carbon isotope measurements varying between -24 permil to -30 permil. Blank tube and wool controls were included to distinguish sample derived peaks from background contributions. No additional sample splits were created during the study; OREX-103001-60 sample was treated as an independent analytical unit. The results demonstrate that activated-carbon filters contain measurable organic residues and generate characteristic pyrolysis products upon heating. These findings support evaluation of contamination sources and provide a baseline for interpreting organic signatures released from filter-based collection materials under thermal processing conditions.