Characterization of dyes and other pollutants in the effluent of a textilecompany by LC/NMR and LC/MS

LC/NMR and LC/MS (the latter technique in the MSn mode) were used to charac terize the organic constituents of industrial wastewater with emphasis on p olar, nonvolatile compounds. In the effluent of a textile company, various compounds such as anthraquinone-type dyes and their byproducts, a fluoresce nt brightener, a byproduct from polyester production, and auxiliaries such as anionic and nonionic surfactants and their degradation products were ide ntified. It is shown that the combined use of both hyphenated techniques pr ovides complementary structural information. If applied under comparable ch romatographic conditions, they are well-suited for the nontarget analysis.