Development of a prototype system for quasi-continuous analysis of organic contaminants in surface or sewage water based on in-line coupling of solid-phase microextraction to gas chromatography

A prototype of an analytical system allowing the quasi-continuous monitoring of organic contaminants in surface water which should be also applicable to the analysis of sewage water was developed. It consists of a flow-through cell and an automated solid-phase microextraction (SPME) unit, coupled in-line to a gas chromatograph. This system combines the advantages of SPME as a simple, fast, sensitive, and solvent-free sample introduction technique, with the advantages of on-line processing of aqueous samples as a less time-consuming, efficient, and continuous technique. Organochlorine pesticides and triazine herbicides were selected as test analytes for the system evaluation. The flow-through cell was shown to provide a successful way for automated on-line SPME coupled in-line to gas chromatography with a repeatability of ca. 10% R.S.D. for the investigated triazines.