A Rapid Method for Screening and Semi-quantitation on Organic Pollutants in Water Samples

KeyWord:GC-MS  compound composer software  water  organic pollutants  screening  semi-quantitative

Abstract:

      Organic pollutants in water samples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction and semi-quantitated by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry(GC-MS) using compound composer software.The results were simultaneously confirmed by GC-MS under selected ion monitoring mode.The mean recoveries ranged from 74% to 102%£¬except for m-aminophenol£¬stigmasterol and beta-sitosterol.The retention time deviations ranged from -0.158 to 0.049 min.The deviations of the semi-quantitative results for 1.0 ¦Ìg spiked water samples ranged from-0.48 to 0.62 ¦Ìg.Surface water samples collected from rivers and lakes of Nantong£¬Suzhou and Wuxi City£¬Jiangsu Province£¬were screened and determined for organic pollutants using compound composer software without any standard solutions.The results indicated that total of 47 organic pollutants were detected in the water samples£¬among which 4-methyl-2,6-di-t-butylphenol was of the highest concentration(140 ¦Ìg?L-1).Phthalate esters(PAEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) were commonly found substances.The isomer concentrations of PAEs and PAHs in the surface water samples were in the range of 1.7-48 ¦Ìg?L-1 and 0.13-9.6 ¦Ìg?L-1£¬respectively.According to the Chinese national environmental quality standards for surface water(GB 3838-2002)£¬the concentrations of PAEs observed in this study were far beyond the restricted values.More attention should be paid on the current status of the total organic pollutants in the investigated waters.