Apparatus for collecting a volatile composition of matter releasably bonded to a pliable porous substrate and process for using said apparatus

Described is apparatus and a process for collecting for subsequent analysis a volatile composition such as a perfume composition located on the surface and/or in the interstices of a planar pliable porous substrate such as a towel section. A planar surface of the substrate which contains the volatile composition is initially juxtaposed adjacent a solid wall (e.g., glass frit) porous to a nonreactive carrier gas such as air, nitrogen or carbon dioxide, and fully and tightly covers the porous section of the wall. The carrier gas is passed through the porous section of the wall and then through the pliable porous substrate section which is adjacent to the wall; after which the carrier gas contains each component of the volatile composition. The composition-carrier gas mixture is then passed through a trapping substance (e.g., TENAX(R) a polyphenylene oxide) which entraps the molecules of each component of the volatile composition. The thus-collected volatile composition may be subsequently analyzed (e.g., using GLC and NMR techniques) after removing the trapping substance containing the entrapped components from the apparatus.