Abstract
The applicability of the headspace liquid phase microextraction and gas chromatography (HS-LPME/GC) for the expeditious and reliable screening of 68 well water samples for selected fuel oxygenates compounds, viz. methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), tertiary-amyl methyl ether (TAME), ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE) and n-butyl ethyl ether (n-BEE) has been evaluated. The method used 3 μl of 1:1 benzyl alcohol/1-octanol as extraction solvent, 20 min extraction time with stirring at 1,250 rpm, at 20°C and salt addition of a mixture of 0.3 g ml−1 sodium sulphate/0.1 g ml−1 sodium chloride. The enrichment factors of this method were from 171 to 571. Limits of detection were in the range of 77–110 ng l−1. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) at 0.05, 0.50 and 10.0 mg l−1 of spiking levels were in the range of 1.28–6.80% with recoveries between 96.2 and 106.0%. Sixty-eight groundwater wells that were located near different gasoline reservoirs in eight largest cities of the Sistan and Balouchestan province were screened by the method. Eight contaminated wells were identified contained MTBE at levels between 0.3 and 1.7 mg l−1. In all cases, other target analytes were at low concentrations or not detected.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achten, C., Kolb, A., & Püttmann, W. (2001). Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in urban and rural precipitation in Germany. Atmospheric Environment, 35, 6337–6345.
Atienza, J., Aragon, P., Herrero, M. A., Puchades, R., & Maquieira, A. (2005). State of the art in the determination of MTBE in natural waters and soils. Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, 35, 317–337.
Bahramifar, N., Yamini, Y., Shariati-Feizabadi, S., & Shamsipur, M. (2004). Trace analysis of methyl tert-butyl ether in water samples using headspace solvent microextraction and gas chromatography–flame ionization detection. Journal of Chromatography A, 1042, 211–217.
Batlle, R., & Nerin, C. (2004). Application of single-drop microextraction to the determination of dialkyl phthalate esters in food simulants. Journal of Chromatography A, 1045, 29–35.
Besharati-Seidani, A., Jabbari, A., & Yamini, Y. (2005). Headspace solvent microextraction: A very rapid method for identification of volatile components of Iranian Pimpinella anisum seed. Analytica Chimica Acta, 530, 155–161.
Church, C. D., Lorne, M. I., Pankow, J. F., Rose, D. L., & Tratnyek, P. G. (1997). Method for determination of methyl tert-butyl ether and its degradation products in water. Environmental Science and Technology, 31, 3723–3726.
Cummins, T. M., Robbins, G. A., Henebry, B. J., Goad, C. R., Gilbert, E. J., Miller, M. E., et al. (2001). A water extraction, static headspace sampling, gas chromatographic method to determine MTBE in heating oil and diesel fuel. Environmental Science and Technology, 35, 1202–1208.
Dewsbury, P., Thornton, S. F., & Lerner, D. N. (2003). Improved analysis of MTBE, TAME, and TBA in petroleum fuel-contaminated groundwater by SPME using deuterated internal standards with GC-MS. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 1392–1397.
Dron, J., Garcia, R., & Millan, E. (2002). Optimization of headspace solid-phase microextraction by means of an experimental design for the determination of methyl tert.-butyl ether in water by gas chromatography–flame ionization detection. Journal of Chromatography A, 963, 259–264.
EPA. (1997). Drinking water advisory—Consumer acceptability advice and health effects analysis on methyl tertiary-butyl ether. Washington, DC: Office of Water, EPA 822-B-96-002, p. 11.
Halden, R. U., Happel, A. M., & Schoen, S. R. (2001). Evaluation of standard methods for the analysis of methyl tert-butyl ether and related oxygenates in gasoline-contaminated groundwater. Environmental Science and Technology, 35, 1469–1474.
Hansson, E., & Hakkarainen, M. (2006). Multiple headspace single-drop microextraction-a new technique for quantitative determination of styrene in polystyrene. Journal of Chromatography A, 1102, 91–95.
Houben, M. C. M. (1995). Motor gasoline (pp. 45–71). Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry.
Jiang, X., Oh, S. Y., & Lee, H. K. (2005). Dynamic liquid–liquid–liquid microextraction with automated movement of the acceptor phase. Analytical Chemistry, 771, 689–1695.
Kaykhaii, M., Ghassaban, M., & Sehri, Y. (2007). Application of solvent microextraction (SME) for quantitation of dialkyl phthalate esters in water using gas chromatography. Chemia Analityczna, 5, 453–463.
Kaykhaii, M., Nazari, S., & Chamsaz, M. (2005). Determination of aliphatic amines in water by gas chromatography using headspace solvent microextraction. Talanta, 65, 223.
Kaykhaii, M., & Rahmani, M. (2007). Headspace Liquid Phase Microextraction (HS-LPME) for quantitation of hexanal in potato crisps using gas chromatography. Journal of Separation Science, 30, 573–578.
Larsen, P. B. (1998). Evaluation of health hazards by exposure to methyl tertiary-butyl ether. International Programme on Chemical Safety, IPCS.
Pavon, J. L. P., Sanchez, M. N., Pinto, C. G., Fernandez-Laespada, M. E., & Cordero, B. M. (2004). Determination of methyl tert-butyl ether in gasoline: A comparison of three fast methods based on mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography A, 1048, 133–139.
Psillakis, E., & Kalogerakis, N. (2001). Solid-phase microextraction versus single-drop microextraction for the analysis of nitroaromatic explosives in water samples. Journal of Chromatography A, 938, 113–120.
Quintana, J. B., Rodil, R., & Reemtsma, T. (2004). Suitability of hollow fibre liquid-phase microextraction for the determination of acidic pharmaceuticals in wastewater by liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry without matrix effects. Journal of Chromatography A, 1061, 19–26.
Rosell, M., Lacortea, S., Ginebreda, A., & Barceloa, D. (2003). Simultaneous determination of methyl tert.-butyl ether and its degradation products, other gasoline oxygenates and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in Catalonian groundwater by purge-and-trap-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography A, 995, 171–184.
Schmidt, T. C., Duong, H., Berga, M., & Haderleina, S. B. (2001). Analysis of fuel oxygenates in the environment. Analyst, 126, 405–413.
US EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency). (1998). Oxygenates in water: Critical information and research needs. EPA-600-R-98/048. Office of research and development, Washington, DC.
White, H., Lesnik, B., & Wilson, J. (2004). New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission Bulletin 42, October.
Zhao, R., Chu, S., & Xu, X. (2004). Optimization of nonequilibrium liquid-phase microextraction for the determination of nitrobenzenes in aqueous samples by gas chromatography–electron capture detection. Analytical Sciences, 20, 663–666.
Zhao, L., & Lee, H. K. (2001). Application of static liquid-phase microextraction to the analysis of organochlorine pesticides in water. Journal of Chromatography A, 919, 381–388.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kaykhaii, M., Mirbaloochzahi, M.R. Direct screening of ground water samples for fuel oxygenates by headspace liquid phase microextraction–gas chromatography. Environ Monit Assess 147, 211–222 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-0113-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-0113-5