Determination of aromatic sulfonates in coastal water by on-line ion-pair solid-phase extraction/ion-pair liquid chromatography with UV detection

A method for determining aromatic sulfonates in sea water is presented. Ion -pair solid phase extraction is coupled on-line to ion-pair liquid chromato graphy with UV detection. In the enrichment step, the recoveries from 100 m L of sea water were higher than 65% for most analytes. linearity was good a nd detection limits were between 0.02 and 1 mug L-1. The repeatability of t he method, expressed as % of relative standard deviation (n = 3) was betwee n 1 and 15%. The method was checked in coastal water near the commercial po rt of Tarragona, where effluents from the petrochemical industry are discha rged. All the samples taken were found to contain 2-naphthalenesulfonate.