Determination of Tris (2-butoxyethyl) phosphate in Textiles and Household Wax Products by Capillary Gas Chromatography.

Abstract

Determination of tris (2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBXP) in household products (textiles and some kinds of household wax products) was examined by capillary gas chromatography using a flame photometric detector (FPD). A simple and successfully cleaned up preparation using the difference in liquid-liquid partition behaviour has been developed for the determination. The detection limit by this method was 40 pg. For the determination of TBXP in textiles, TBXP were extracted from samples with methanol under reflux at 70°C. For the removal of polar materials, distilled water was added to the extract, and TBXP was extracted into dichrolomethane from the methanolic phase. After evaporating the organic solvent, the residue was dissolved in n-hexane, and applied to the GC. The recovery of TBXP added to textiles at the amount of 2000 μg was 99% in average. For the determination of TBXP in household wax products, samples were dissolved in n-hexane and were washed 3 times with distilled water to remove polar materials. For the removal of nonpolar materials, TBXP was extracted from the n-hexane phase into acetonitrile. After evaporating the organic solvent, the residue was dissolved in n-hexane, and applied to the GC. The recovery of TBXP added to the household wax product at the amount of 2000 μg was 97% in average. A large amount of TBXP (over 10000 μg/g) was detected in 2 out of 6 brands of floorfinishes, but not in all 3 brands of flame retardant finished curtains by this proporsal method.