Detection of residual solvents in disposable chopsticks - headspace gas chromatography method

1. Disposable chopsticks hide three major hazards:
Impairment of respiratory functionDuring the production process of disposable chopsticks, sulfur fumigation is required, which can release SO2 and corrode the respiratory mucosa when exposed to heat during use;
Damage to digestive functionDisposable chopsticks are bleached with hydrogen peroxide during the production process. Hydrogen peroxide has strong corrosiveness, causing corrosion to the oral cavity, esophagus, and even gastrointestinal tract; The use of talcum powder during the polishing process can lead to incomplete removal and gradual accumulation in the human body, which can cause gallstones.
Bacterial infectionDisposable chopsticks that have been disinfected have a shelf life of up to 4 months. Once the shelf life has expired, they are likely to carry yellow grape bacteria, E. coli, and hepatitis.
Disposable chopsticks are indeed convenient, but it is also an undeniable fact that they do not meet hygiene standards and waste forest resources. According to relevant information,
China consumes 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks and 1.66 million cubic meters of wood annually, requiring the felling of approximately 25 million large trees,
Reduce forest area by 2 million square meters. Only Lanzhou consumes 1.5 million pairs of disposable chopsticks every day, and consumes 20000 large trees in a year. Due to its affordability, it has become popular in mid to low end restaurants, hot pot restaurants, and snack stalls in the city. Most of the tables are filled with cheap disposable chopsticks. If consumers want to use slightly better quality chopsticks or disinfectant chopsticks, they can only go to a few branded restaurants or high-end dining venues. Mr. Zhu, who runs a fried noodle restaurant, told reporters that wholesale a pair of 60-70 pairs of chopsticks in the market costs only 0.02 yuan per pair because the cost of chopsticks is included in the cost calculation and is provided to consumers for free. Therefore, price comes first. In order to make money, the operator naturally chooses chopsticks that are poorly made but very cheap.
Observation Report on the Experiment of "Terrifying Disposable Chopsticks"

time	Observed phenomena
	Clear water soybeans	Soybeans soaked in disposable chopsticks
June 27th	The water is very clear	The water is very clear
June 28th	The water hasn't changed, a bean has sprouted and is very short	The water is a bit murky, but the beans haven't changed
June 29th	The water has some bubbles, and a bean has sprouted	The water has become even more turbid, with white objects floating on top. The beans have not changed or sprouted
June 30th	The water is a bit murky, and the sprouts of the beans are still very short	The water became very turbid, and the beans grew a little bigger
July 1st	The water has turned a little yellow, and a few beans have split open on half	The water is so turbid that you can no longer see the beans, and it smells very bad
July 2nd	The water is very turbid, and most of the beans have cracked open, but only a few sprouts can be seen	It smells so bad, I feel nauseous when I smell it

Since the beginning of this year, the Food and Drug Administration has also seized multiple batches of disposable chopsticks with excessive residual solvents. It has become an open secret in the industry to boil moldy and spoiled chopsticks white with industrial hydrogen peroxide before selling them. After processing these chemical raw materials, various chemical residues will be generated on disposable chopsticks, and long-term ingestion of these chemical residues can pose a threat to human health.
Huipu Analysis has launched a complete set of testing instruments for detecting solvent residues in disposable chopsticks to meet the requirements of many enterprises

Instrument Name	model	unit price	Origin/Manufacturer
gas chromatograph	GC-2010 FID+capillary	48000	Zhangjiakou, Hebei
Headspace sampler	AHS-610	39000	Beifen San Pu
chromatographic column	Special column	2300	Beifen San Pu
Chromatography workstation	N2000	1200	Zhejiang university
Nitrogen generator	BF-300	9900	Beifen San Pu
hydrogen generator	BF-300E	6600	Beifen San Pu
Air generator	BF-2L	3950	Beifen San Pu