Ion chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry for the identification of low-molecular-weight organic acids during the 2,4-dichlorophenol degradation.
End-product identification of organic pollutants during oxidation water treatments is of environmental concern due to their potential toxicity. In this work the coupling of ion chromatography (IC), equipped with a membrane ion suppressor, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) has been successfully exploited for the identification of novel low molecular weight organic acids formed as final by-products of 2,4-dichloro-phenol (DCP) degradation by Fenton's reagent, an oxidation method widely employed to degrade recalcitrant organic pollutants in industrial wastewater. The IC-ESI-MS analytical set-up not only allowed the detection of known organic acids but also the identification of 13 new low molecular weight organic acids as a result of extensive oxidation of the parent organic pollutant. Some of the novel organic acids were shown to be chlorine containing by-products and, consequently, of environmental concern. The analytical set-up could be used for characterizing the unknown organic carbon fraction arising from oxidation water treatments.
Mascolo
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G
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Ricerca Sulle Acque, Via F De Blasio 5, 70123 Bari, Italy. mascolo@area.ba.cnr.it
Lopez
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A
Detomaso
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A
Lovecchio
G
G
D002733:Chlorophenols / Q000737:chemistry*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*
D002733:Chlorophenols; C004762:2,4-dichlorophenol