Development of an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 50 semi-volatile organic contaminants in wastewaters
Leire Mijangos,
Dennis Bilbao,
Naroa Lopez-Herguedas,
Natalia Ortueta,
Maitane Olivares,
Olatz Zuloaga,
Nestor Etxebarria,
Ailette Prieto
Affiliations
Leire Mijangos
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plentzia, Basque Country, Spain
Dennis Bilbao
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plentzia, Basque Country, Spain
Naroa Lopez-Herguedas
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plentzia, Basque Country, Spain; Corresponding author.
Natalia Ortueta
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain
Maitane Olivares
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plentzia, Basque Country, Spain
Olatz Zuloaga
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plentzia, Basque Country, Spain
Nestor Etxebarria
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plentzia, Basque Country, Spain
Ailette Prieto
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Basque Country, Spain; Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PIE), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Plentzia, Basque Country, Spain
This work describes the development of a robust analytical methodology for the simultaneous determination of 50 semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in wastewater effluent samples by solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. In this work, we studied extensively whether the validated SPE method used for the analysis of polar compounds in wastewaters could be extended to the analysis of non-polar compounds in the same analytical run. To that aim, the effect of different organic solvents in the SPE process (i.e., sample conditioning prior to SPE, elution solvent and evaporation steps) was evaluated. In this sense, the addition of methanol to wastewater samples before the extraction, the use of hexane:toluene (4:1, v/v) mixture for the quantitative elution of target compounds, and the addition of isooctane during the evaporation were required to minimize analyte losses during SPE and enhance extraction yields. Overall, the developed methodology showed a good performance for the determination of 50 SVOCs, and was further applied to the analysis of real wastewater effluent samples. • A validated SPE method for polar compounds was extended to the analysis of non-polar compounds. • Elution with hex:tol (4:1, v/v) and the addition of isooctane during the evaporation yield good recoveries. • The developed methodology was suitable for the determination of 50 SVOCs in aqueous samples.
