Direct determination of hydrophobic organic compounds in aqueous solution in the presence of dissolved organic carbon by high-performance liquid chromatography

A simple and quick method using high performance liquid chromatography is p resented to determine hydrophobic organic compounds in aqueous solutions co ntaining dissolved organic carbon. The analytical procedure does not requir e an extraction or purification step unlike conventional analytical approac hes. It was used to measure the water solubility of dibenzofuran (4.55 mg l (-1)), acenaphthene (3.30 mg l(-1)), fluoranthene (0.23 mg l(-1)) and 4-chl orobiphenyl (1.47 mg l(-1)). The results were compared with those obtained by gas chromatographic quantification. The method was applied successfully to the direct determination of the water solubility of these compounds in t he presence of DOC. In a solution of Aldrich humic acid, the water solubili ty of dibenzofuran, acenaphthene and 4-chlorobiphenyl increased linearly wi th increasing DOC concentration. The water extractable organic matter from peat led to a smaller solubility of dibenzofuran comparing to the Aldrich h umic acid in the same concentration range of DOC. (C) 1989 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.