APPLICATION OF PARTICLE BEAM LC MS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF WATER FROM PUBLICLY OWNED TREATMENT WORKS

Effluents from three New Jersey Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) were analysed for nonvolatile organic compounds using particle beam-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (PB-LC/MS). The wastewater samples were extracted by XAD-2 resin adsorption methodology. A comparison between the PB-LC/MS analysis and an on-column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis showed that 46 additional compounds could be detected by PB-LC/MS. Identifications were made either by mass spectral interpretation or by matches with a mass spectral library data base for 19 of the 46 compounds detected only by PB-LC/MS. The majority of contaminants identified were non-ionic surfactants, plasticizers, plastic additives and other various synthetic organic compounds. PB-LC/MS has proven its ability to detect and identify a number of environmental contaminants which on-column GC/MS failed to detect. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.