SEPARATION OF CHIRAL BIODEGRADATION INTERMEDIATES OF LINEAR ALKYLBENZENESULFONATES BY CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

High-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) with alpha-cyclodext rin as the chiral selector was applied to separate the enantiomers of p-sulfophenyl-2-butyrate (SP2B) and p-sulfophenyl-3-butyrate (SP3B), w hich occur as biodegradation intermediates of linear alkylbenzenesulfo nates (LAS), the widely used anionic surfactants. With this analytical method, we studied the transformation of both SP3B enantiomers in a l aboratory batch incubation with activated sewage sludge of a municipal wastewater treatment plant, (S)-(+)-SP3B and (R)-(-)-SP3B could be de tected in mechanically treated sewage effluent. After enrichment on gr aphitized carbon black (Carbopack B), the extracts were analyzed by HP LC with UV diode array and fluorescence detection as well as by HPCE w ith UV diode array detection. Quantification of SP3B in a 24-h composi te sample of primary sewage effluent yielded 34 mu g/L (limit of detec tion, 0.1 mu g/L) of the racemic mixture determined by HPLC and 18 mu g/L of each enantiomer measured by HPCE (limit of detection, 1 mu g/L) .