Detection of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole in chlorinated water at nanogram per litre levels by SPME–GC–ECD

The formation, analysis, and control of chlor(am)ination-derived odor problems: A review

Odors and tastes have become universal problems related to drinking water quality. In addition to the typical odor problems caused by algae or microorganisms, the occurrence of odors derived from drinking water disinfection have attracted attention. The chlor(am)ination-derived odor substances have certain toxicity and odor-causing characteristics, and would enter the tap water through water distribution systems, directly affecting drinking water safety and customer experience. This study provided a comprehensive overview of the occurrence, detection, and control of odor substances derived from drinking water chlor(am)ination disinfection. The occurrence and formation mechanisms of several typical types of disinfection derived odor substances were summarized, including haloanisoles, N-chloroaldimines, iodotrihalomethanes, and halophenoles. They are mainly derived from specific precursors such as halophenols, anisoles, and amino acids species during the disinfection or distribution networks. In addition, the change of disinfectant during chlor(am)ination was also one of the causes of disinfection odors. Due to the extremely low odor threshold concentrations (OTCs) of these odor substances, the effective sample pre-enrichment for instrument identification and quantification are essential. The control strategies of odor problems mainly include adsorption, chemical oxidation, and combined processes such as ozonation and biological activated carbon processes (O₃/BAC) and ultraviolet-based advanced oxidation processes (UV-AOPs). Finally, the challenges and possible future research directions in this research field were discussed and proposed.

Development and optimization of a quantitative analysis of main odorants causing off flavours in cork stoppers using headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and sensitive method was developed and validated to simultaneously separate and determine the 2-Methoxy-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2-Isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, guaiacol, 2-Isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-Methylisoborneol, geosmin, 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole, 2,3,4,6-Tetrachloroanisole, 2,4,6-Tribromoanisole and Pentachloroanisole in cork stoppers via headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The influence of the fibre coating used, the extraction times and temperatures, the sodium chloride additions and the desorption temperatures were investigated. Once done, the optimial HS-SPME conditions established were divinylbenzene/carboxenpolydimethylsiloxane/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fibres, a 50°C extraction temperature, 60-min extraction time, an ionic strength of 3-g sodium chlorid and a 290°C desorption temperature. The method showed a good linearity (R2  ≥ 0.994) within the tested range (from 0.1 to 50 ng L-1 ) for all the compounds. Using TCA-d10 and MIB-d3 as internal standards the precision, expressed as repeatability and reproducibility RSD, was <10% in both. Note that the limits of quantifications (LOQs) are below the sensory threshold levels for such compounds in water and wine. Good recoveries were obtained for cork macerates (from 100.4% to 126%) and when compared with other reported methods using HS-SPME in water and cork stopper samples, the present method had more analytes with the lowest limit of detection for most of the targeted compounds, along with good precision and recovery.

Degradation in chlorinated water of the UV filter 4-tert-butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane present in commercial sunscreens

4-tert-Butyl-4'-methoxydibenzoylmethane (BMDM) is a widely used ultraviolet A filter. In this work, we have studied the effect of chlorine and dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations on the stability of UV filter (BMDM) present in two commercial sunscreen cream formulations in water. An experimental design was used to assess the effect of the two experimental factors on the degradation of BMDM. Higher concentrations of chlorine lead to higher degradation percentages of BMDM and higher concentrations of DOM inhibit its degradation. Moreover, a mono and a dichloro derivate of BMDM were identified as by-products.

An optimized luciferase bioluminescent assay for coenzyme A

A new bioluminescent method for coenzyme A (CoA) quantification is described. It is based on the enzymatic conversion of dehydroluciferyl-adenylate (L-AMP) into dehydroluciferyl-coenzyme A (L-CoA) by firefly luciferase (E.C. 1.13.12.7) (LUC), which causes a flash of light that can be measured in a luminometer. The method was subjected to optimization using experimental design methodologies to obtain optimum values for the concentrations of L-AMP ([L-AMP]), luciferase ([LUC]), ATP ([ATP]) and luciferin ([LH(2)]). This method has a linear response over the range of 0.25-4 microM of CoA, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.24 microM and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.80 microM. The assay has a relative standard deviation of about 7%. By coupling this optimized procedure to bioluminescent detection, a sensible and robust method can be obtained for the analysis of CoA.

Alternative sorptive extraction method for gas chromatography determination of halogenated anisoles in water and wine samples

An alternative sorptive microextraction method for the determination of five halogenated anisoles in water and wine matrices is proposed. Analytes were concentrated in an inexpensive and disposable piece of bulk polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), desorbed with a small volume of organic solvent, and determined by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection (GC-ECD) or tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The influence of several factors on the efficiency of extraction and desorption steps was investigated in detail and the observed behaviour justified on the basis of thermodynamics and kinetics of the solid-phase microextraction technique. Under optimised conditions, analytes were first extracted in the headspace (HS) mode, at room temperature, for 2.5 h and then desorbed with 1 mL of n-pentane. This extract was further evaporated to 50 microL. The overall extraction yield of the procedure ranged from 40 to 55% and the limits of quantification remained between 0.5 and 20 ng L(-1), depending on the compound considered and the detection technique. Precision and linearity of the method were excellent for all species with both GC-ECD and GC-MS/MS detection. Matrix effects were evaluated with different water and wine samples; moreover, the suitability of the PDMS sorbent for storage of analytes, under different conditions, was demonstrated.

Analysis of volatile and semivolatile organic compounds in municipal wastewater using headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography

The aim of this work was to develop a simple and fast analytical method for the determination of a wide range of organic compounds (volatile and semivolatile compounds) in municipal wastewater. The headspace-solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography (with mass spectroscopy) was used for determination of the organic compounds. In this study, 39 organic compounds were determined, including 3 sulfur compounds, 28 substituted benzenes, and 8 substituted phenols. The extraction parameters, such as types of SPME fiber, extraction temperature, extraction time, desorption time, salt effect, and magnetic stirring, were investigated. The method had very good repeatability, because the relative standard deviations ranged from 0.5 to 12%. The detection limit of each compound was at or below the microgram-per-liter level. This method was applied for determination of the organic compounds in raw wastewater, primary effluent, secondary effluent, and chlorinated secondary effluent samples from the Chania Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (Crete, Greece).

Factorial analysis of the trihalomethanes formation in water disinfection using chlorine

The factors that affect trihalomethane (THM) (chloroform, bromodichloromethane, chlorodibromomethane and bromoform) formation from the chlorination of aqueous solutions of hydrophobic fulvic acids (FA) were investigated in a prototype laboratorial simulation using factorial analysis. This strategy involved a fractional factorial design (16 plus 5 center experiments) of five factors (fulvic acids concentration, chlorine dose, temperature, pH and bromide concentration) and a Box Behnken design (12 plus 3 center experiments) for the detailed analysis of three factors (FA concentration, chlorine dose and temperature). The concentration of THM was determined by headspace analysis by GC-ECD. The most significant factors that affect the four THM productions were the following: chloroform-FA concentration and temperature; bromodichloromethane-FA concentration and chlorine dose; chlorodibromomethane-chlorine dose; and, bromoform-chlorine dose and bromide concentration. Moreover, linear models were obtained for the four THM concentrations in the disinfection solution as function of the FA concentration, chlorine dose and temperature, and it was observed that the complexity of the models (number of significant factors and interactions) increased with increasing bromine atoms in the THM. Also, this study shows that reducing the FA concentration the relative amount of bromated THM increases.

Statistical designs and response surface techniques for the optimization of chromatographic systems

This paper describes fundamentals and applications of multivariate statistical techniques for the optimization of chromatographic systems. The surface response methodologies: central composite design, Doehlert matrix and Box-Behnken design are discussed and applications of these techniques for optimization of sample preparation steps (extractions) and determination of experimental conditions for chromatographic separations are presented. The use of mixture design for optimization of mobile phases is also related. An optimization example involving a real separation process is exhaustively described. A discussion about model validation is presented. Some applications of other multivariate techniques for optimization of chromatographic methods are also summarized.

Automated trace determination of earthy-musty odorous compounds in water samples by on-line purge-and-trap–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

An automated technique based on purge-and-trap coupled to gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection has been developed and optimized for the trace determination of five of the most important water odorants; 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-methylisoborneol, 2,4,6-trichloroanisole and geosmin. The extraction method was absolutely solvent-free. Analytes were purged from 20 ml of water sample containing sodium chloride at room temperature by a flow of He and trapped on a Tenax sorbent. The desorption step was performed with helium and temperature programming and desorbed analytes were directly transferred to a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer for separation and determination. The method was reproducible (RSD<8%) and linear over the calibration range (10-200 ngl(-1)). The relative recoveries of the analytes from ground water sample were calculated and were between 80 and 103% and limits of detection (LOD) below odor thresholds were achieved for most of the compounds.