Abstract
The possibility was investigated of simultaneously determining linear alkylbenzene sulphonates, nonylphenol polyethoxylates and their respective biotransformation products, namely sulphophenyl carboxylates (SPC) and nonylphenoxy carboxylates, by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV and fluorescence detection. Both the ion-suppression and the ion-pair techniques were taken into account for separating the compounds of interest. Each technique exhibited peculiar characteristics of resolution and sensitivity. Differences in the selectivity of the chromatographic system on using either methanol or acetonitrile as organic modifier were also considered. Liquid-solid extraction by an octadecyl-bonded silica (C 18) cartridge was employed to isolate all the compounds considered from a sewage treatment plant effluent sample. The recovery of SPC with up to six carbons in the carboxylate chain was unsatisfactory. The SPC distribution appeared to be dominated by the homologues having 5–8 carbon atoms in the carboxylate chain.
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