Arsine (AsH₃) and phosphine (PH₃) in industrial emissions in the purification of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in two petrochemical plants, one in Colombia, the other in Spain—were the focus of this research. The study shows the challenges and contributions to environmental sciences in quantifying the magnitude of the environmental impact of these pollutants. AsH₃ and PH₃ were determined and quantified in industrial emissions, thereby demonstrating the source of their formation. Prior to this research, evaluations of these contaminants were not available either to the scientific community or to the public. The focus was on two stages of the LPG purification process: the deethanizer, where the most volatile compounds are separated from the LPG, and the splitter, where propylene is removed from propane. Monitoring was extremely complex because of strict safety requirements at each point. It was carried out over a period of one year, with 432 samples taken at different times to evaluate the stability and magnitude of possible environmental impacts. To overcome the analytical barrier of contaminating compounds at trace or ultra-trace levels, and their probable variability in pressure and temperature at the point of exit from each column, a new methodology was developed coupling a variable pressure sampler (VPS) to a gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometer. The analytical method employed a zeolite-packed prototype column which was validated and employed on an industrial scale, to mitigate the environmental impact of AsH₃ and PH₃ in the atmosphere. For the validation of each prototype, AsH₃ and PH₃ standards of 1.0, 0.1, 0.05, 0.01 and 0.005 ppm were used. The removal efficiencies varied between 97.97 and 99.91%. The RSD varied between 2.7 and 9.1% and the t-test of students of paired data showed P values greater than 0.05 at a significance level of 95%. In the affluents of the deethanizer, the highest levels of AsH₃ and PH₃ in the Colombian plant were 0.21 and 0.31 ppm respectively; in Spain they were 0.23 and 0.25 ppm. These values are higher than those established by OSHA, NIOSH and those quantified in the atmosphere by other studies. The concentration levels were identified at 40 TM h⁻¹, which was the highest operating rate for the deethanizer and the splitter. For the splitter affluents, the highest values of AsH₃ and PH₃, both in Colombia and Spain, were 0.009 ppm. The installation of columns filled with zeolite at the exit points in these two plants, permitted obtaining effluents with a percentage removal greater than 99.95%, demonstrating the selectivity of the catalytic system as well as the effort to mitigate environmental impact.

这项研究的重点是两家石化厂（哥伦比亚的一家，西班牙的另一家）在净化液化石油气（LPG）中工业排放中的砷化氢（AsH ₃）和膦（PH ₃）。研究表明，在量化这些污染物对环境的影响程度方面，环境科学面临挑战和贡献。AsH ₃和PH ₃确定并量化了工业排放，从而证明了其形成的来源。在进行这项研究之前，科学界或公众都无法获得对这些污染物的评估。重点放在液化石油气提纯过程的两个阶段：脱乙烷塔（其中最易挥发的化合物从液化石油气中分离出来）和分馏塔（其中从丙烷中除去丙烯）。由于每个点都有严格的安全要求，因此监控非常复杂。这项工作进行了一年，在不同时间采集了432个样本，以评估其对环境可能产生的影响的稳定性和严重性。为克服痕量或超痕量污染物污染的分析障碍，由于它们在每个色谱柱出口处的压力和温度可能存在变化，因此开发了一种新方法，将可变压力采样器（VPS）与带有质谱仪的气相色谱仪结合使用。该分析方法采用了填充沸石的原型柱，该柱经验证并已在工业规模上使用，以减轻AsH对环境的影响₃和PH ₃在大气中。为了验证每个原型，使用1.0、0.1、0.05、0.01和0.005 ppm的AsH ₃和PH ₃标准。去除效率在97.97和99.91％之间变化。RSD在2.7％至9.1％之间变化，配对数据的学生的t检验显示P值大于0.05，显着性水平为95％。在脱乙烷塔中，AsH ₃和PH ₃含量最高哥伦比亚工厂的总磷分别为0.21和0.31 ppm；在西班牙，分别为0.23和0.25 ppm。这些值高于OSHA，NIOSH确定的值以及其他研究在大气中量化的值。确定的浓度水平为40 TM h ^-1，这是脱乙烷塔和分离塔的最高运行速率。对于分离器富集剂，哥伦比亚和西班牙的AsH ₃和PH ₃最高值为0.009 ppm。在这两家工厂的出口处都安装了装有沸石的色谱柱，从而可以得到百分比去除率大于99.95％的废水，这表明了催化系统的选择性以及减轻环境影响的努力。