Determination of organophosphorus fire retardants and plasticizers in wastewater samples using MAE-SPME with GC-ICPMS and GC-TOFMS detection.
Determination of organophosphorus fire retardants and plasticizers at trace levels in wastewater is described. In this work, microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and solid-phase microextraction (SPME) are used for sample preparation to extract and preconcentrate the analytes, followed by analysis by gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICP-MS) for phosphorus-specific detection. Gas chromatography coupled to time of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) was used to confirm the organphosphorus fire retardants in wastewater. The detection limits of organophosphorus fire retardants (OPFRs) were 29 ng L(-1) for tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), 45 ng for L(-1) for tris(2-butoxyethyl)phosphate (TBEP), and 50 ng L(-1) for tris(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (TEHP). Optimized extraction conditions were performed at 65 degrees C for 30 min and with 10% NaCl. Application of MAE during the sample preparation prior to the SPME allowed the detection of tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate, which has been difficult to determine in previous work. Application of the method to wastewater samples resulted in detecting 3.1 microg L(-1) P from TnBP, 5.0 microg L(-1) P from TBEP, and 4.0 microg L(-1) P from TEHP. The presence of these compounds were also confirmed by SPME-GC-TOF-MS.
Ellis
Jenny
J
Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0172, USA.
Shah
Monika
M
Kubachka
Kevin M
KM
Caruso
Joseph A
JA
D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D008872:Microwaves; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D010968:Plasticizers / Q000032:analysis*; D052617:Solid Phase Microextraction / Q000379:methods; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D005411:Flame Retardants; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D010968:Plasticizers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical