Abstract
In this work, Chromabond® HLB was evaluated as an extraction sorbent of a group of seven phthalic acid esters (PAEs; i.e., dipropyl phthalate, DPP, dibutyl phthalate, DBP, diisopentyl phthalate, DIPP, di-n-pentyl phthalate, DNPP, butylbenzyl phthalate, BBP, dicyclohexyl phthalate, DCHP, and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, DEHP) and one adipate (di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate, DEHA) from tap and waste water prior to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. After the optimization of the extraction conditions (200 mg of sorbent conditioned with 10 mL of acetonitrile and 2 mL of Milli-Q water, extraction of 50 mL of water at pH 6.0, vacuum drying for 20 min and elution with 10 mL of ethyl acetate), a recovery study was developed at different concentration levels in each matrix, which revealed that most of the target analytes could be recovered between 75 and 112%, with relative standard deviation values for all of them below 20%. Matrix effect was evaluated, finding that matrix-matched calibration should be developed for most analytes in both matrices. The limits of quantification (LOQs) of the method were in the 0.82–71 ng L−1 range. The developed method was also applied to the extraction of the target PAEs in different water samples finding some of them, in particular, DNPP in tap water samples, and BBP and DCHP in waste water, but below the LOQs of the method.
Highlights
In the plastic industry, an important number of compounds are currently being used as additives to improve plastic properties, among which plasticizers, and, in particular, phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the groups of compounds mostly used
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the analysis of the selected group of PAEs as well as the adipate, using the conditions selected in our previous work [23] which are summarized in the Experimental Section
Such recovery values are similar to the ones reported by previous works in which Oasis® HLB cartridges were used for the extraction of some of these analytes from water samples [16,18,19] except for DIPP, DNPP, and DCHP, which were not analyzed in those cases
Summary
An important number of compounds are currently being used as additives to improve plastic properties, among which plasticizers, and, in particular, phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are one of the groups of compounds mostly used. When PAEs are present in the polymeric matrix, plastics can be more flexible and manageable. Their use with this objective began in the 1920s by replacing other natural compounds, such as camphor (highly volatile and fragrant). The use of PAEs was extended up to the point that phthalates accounted for 65% of the world consumption of plasticizers in 2017 [1]. The analysis of PAEs, in environmental samples, is of high interest, since PAEs can be released from plastics and because many of them have an endocrine-disrupting activity [2]. Some PAEs have been forbidden or regulated by different countries, especially in plastic items
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