Carbonyl compounds can be released into the atmosphere from a variety of sources, and they are known to pose a health risk. HPLC methods like EPA 8315A and CARB 1004 in the United States, and HJ 1153-2020 in China offer solutions for labs analyzing carbonyls in air samples. This Application Brief explores method optimizations on method HJ 1153-2020 resulting in a faster analysis able to fully resolve the 12 carbonyl compounds studied.