A simple and efficient method for the simultaneous gas chromatographic determination of four volatile fatty acids (acetic, propionic, butyric and valeric) in municipal solid waste (MSW) compost is described. This acids have been described as phytotoxic and the diversified concentrations of this acids could be used as a parameter of maturity of municipal solid waste compost (MSW). The determination of short chain carboxylic acids involves a single water extraction of these acids in the compost and filtration of the extracts with a polyvinylidine difluoride (PVDF) membrane prior to direct injection on a gas chromatograph with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Three different piles of MSW were analyzed. Good linearity and good correlation coefficients were achieved for all compounds; furthermore, the detection and quantification limits were low, providing a sensitive method to monitoring these acids in MSW compost.
gas chromatography; municipal solid waste; composting; short chain carboxilic acids
