A UNIFIED APPROACH TO THE ANALYSIS OF POLAR ORGANIC BY-PRODUCTS OF OXIDATION IN AQUEOUS MATRICES

Information on the identification and occurrence of polar by-products of oxidation in water treatment is limited due to the difficulty in is olating these compounds from the aquatic matrix. A scheme has been dev eloped which permits the simultaneous recovery and pre-concentration o f mono- and multifunctional carbonyl-containing species from a single aqueous sample. Subsequent target-specific derivatization permits the identification of aldo- and ketoacids and hydroxy carbonyl species as well as aldehydes, ketones, dialdehydes and ketoaldehydes. The same aq ueous sample can be pre-concentrated on an in-line ion exchange column for analysis of organic acids by ion chromatography. An additional sa mple can be analyzed through selective generation of OH radicals formi ng a fluorophore for determination of organic peroxides. Positive chem ical ionization ion trap mass spectrometry is effectively utilized for identification of the derivatized carbonyl-containing species and fol lowing structural confirmation through analysis of standards, the anal ysis scheme is applied to ozonated aqueous solutions. A cationic polym er, commonly used in drinking water treatment, produces trace levels o f each of the derivatized Fractions. An ozonated surface water is anal yzed for the carbonyl-containing species and also for the formation of peroxides. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.