Abstract
High production rates and wide areas of application of water-soluble polymers indicate their potential occurrence in wastewater. Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PNVCL) is such a water-soluble and poorly biodegradable polymer with non-ionic, non-sticky, non-toxic and thermosensitive properties. Its field of applications covers being a constituent in aerosol sprays, pump sprays, and lotions as well as its usage as flocculant in wastewater treatment plants. However, although discharged into sewage treatment plants at high amounts, analytical methods for determining water soluble polymers, in particular PNVCL, in environmental samples are still missing. Therefore, this study aims at developing an efficient analytical method for detecting trace levels of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) in wastewaters by applying continuous-flow off-line Py-GC/MS for the first time. The approach was based on the identification of specific off-line pyrolysis products (ε-caprolactam, N-vinylcaprolactam) that haven been used in the following for a calibration process that allowed a quantitative determination. An evaluation including specificity, linearity, sensitivity and reproducibility characterized this approach as very suitable for detection of this polymer in complex environmental matrices such as wastewaters. Finally, the transferability has been checked by analyzing a real wastewater from a sewage treatment plant effluent. Here limitations especially due to matrix effects are lowering the sensitivity of the pyrolysis-based method. Nevertheless, a contamination with approx. 70 µg/L of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) was determined pointing to a huge emission of PNVCL into the aquatic environment and a general high environmental relevance of this synthetic polymer. Noteworthy, this is the first report on the occurrence of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) in environmental samples.
Highlights
Since the first development of synthetic polymers in the early twentieth century, their production and application areas have increased significantly [1, 2]
The main focus of this study was to develope and to evaluate an analytical pyrolysis-based approach for identification and quantification of poly(vinylcaprolactam) in sewage water and polluted river water. This approach consisted: (i) of identification of specific pyrolysis products allowing an unambigueous identification of the original synthetic polymer, (ii) of a quantification based on Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of the pyrolysis products at low concetrations reflecting the expected natural pollution levels and, (iii) of testing the applicability by analysing real waste water samples
This work provided a methodological approach for the quantitative determination of poly (N-vinylcaprolactam) in wastewater samples by continuous-flow off-line pyrolysis-GC/MS for the first time
Summary
Since the first development of synthetic polymers in the early twentieth century, their production and application areas have increased significantly [1, 2]. Most of them are plastics being insoluble in water. Significant amounts of water-soluble polymers are produced and used, either as solids, films, or water-based solutions. Water-soluble synthetic polymers are often biocompatible and non-toxic. They contain hydrophilic functional groups, such as ether, hydroxyl, amide, and pyrrolidone. The most commonly used water-soluble polymers are polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylamide, poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone), and poly (N-isopropylacrylamide). Traditional applications cover thickening and antifoaming agents, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
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