The extraction and recovery of chlorinated insectides and polychlorinated biphenyls from water using porous polyurethane foams

Mass budget in two high altitude lakes reveals their role as atmospheric PCB sinks

A mass budget of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was constructed for two altitude lakes located in the French Alps to (i) quantify inward and outward PCB flux over the entire year of 2012, (ii) hierarchize the dominant pathways of PCB transfers, and (iii) evaluate to what extent these pathways vary between both lakes. The annual PCB inputs were similar, and the glacial runoff and sediment-to-water exchange were negligible sources of PCBs to the water column relative to atmospheric deposition. The annual inputs were primarily introduced by snow deposition and transferred into the lakes during the few weeks of spring thaw. While the dominant deposition pathways were similar, the main processes by which the water column lost pollutants differed between the two lakes. Despite these differences, the mass budget revealed that PCB inputs exceeded outputs for both studied lakes and that the lakes acted as atmospheric PCB sinks for the surrounding mountain environment. The differences in the PCB distribution between the key compartments (sediment and water column) are most likely due to differences in the lacustrine internal processes.

Fifty years of solid-phase extraction in water analysis--historical development and overview

The use of an appropriate sample handling technique is a must in an analysis of organic micropollutants in water. The efforts to use a solid phase for the recovery of analytes from a water matrix prior to their detection have a long history. Since the first experimental trials using activated carbon filters that were performed 50 years ago, solid-phase extraction (SPE) has become an established sample preparation technique. The initial experimental applications of SPE resulted in widespread use of this technique in current water analysis and also to adoption of SPE into standardized analytical methods. During the decades of its evolution, chromatographers became aware of the advantages of SPE and, despite many innovations that appeared in the last decade, new SPE developments are still expected in the future. A brief overview of 50 years of the history of the use of SPE in organic trace analysis of water is given in presented paper.

Extractants for organochlorine insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls from water

A reversed liquid-liquid partition system prepared from Chromosorb W, n-undecane and Carbowax 4000 monostearate was shown to be suitable for extracting organochlorine insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from water (with the exception of Aroclor 1260). The performances of the partition system, Amberlite XAD-4, porous polyurethane foam and the solvent extraction technique when applied to the analysis of four environmental water samples were comparable (except for Aroclor 1260).