title: Benzotriazole and 5-methylbenzotriazole in recycled water, surface water and dishwashing detergents from Perth, Western Australia: analytical method development and application.
abstract: A simplified and sensitive liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method without requiring sample pre-concentration was successfully developed for detecting the occurrence of ultra-low (ng L(-1)) concentrations of benzotriazole (BTri), and its derivative 5-methyl benzotriazole (5-MeBT) in various Western Australian environmental water samples. The method detection limit was 2 ng L(-1), providing similar detection limits to other more process intensive methods where pre-concentration using solid phase extraction (SPE) was employed. The method was used to assess the occurrence of BTri and 5-MeBT in wastewater and surface water samples. Over a period of 12 months, BTri and 5-MeBT concentrations in secondary treated wastewater were measured, with the highest BTri and 5-MeBT concentrations observed during winter months at 78 ng L(-1) and 21 ng L(-1), respectively. The method was also used to assess the removal efficiency of BTri and 5-MeBT through an advanced water recycling plant (AWRP). While BTri was more persistent than 5-MeBT, both compounds were removed from the AWRP to <10 ng L(-1) (BTri) and <2 ng L(-1) (5-MeBT), with reverse osmosis (RO) providing the most effective treatment process for their removal.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Alotaibi
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: McKinley
authors.forename: A Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Reeder
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Furness
mesh_terms: D003902:Detergents / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D014230:Triazoles / Q000032:analysis*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014904:Western Australia
chemical_list: D003902:Detergents; D014230:Triazoles; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C012771:benzotriazole