Development and Application of a Purification Method for the Determination of Three EDCs Isotopes in Sediments and Water

Zewen Pan, Rui Wang, Jun Wei and Yingjie Cao ()
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Zewen Pan: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Rui Wang: POWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limted, No.201 Gaojiao Road, Yuhang District, Hangzhou 311122, China
Jun Wei: POWERCHINA Huadong Engineering Corporation Limted, No.201 Gaojiao Road, Yuhang District, Hangzhou 311122, China
Yingjie Cao: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: Compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) is an efficient method for source apportionment and the identification of the transformation process in organic compounds. However, most studies of CSIA are still limited to laboratory experiments. Few studies used have CSIA in an in situ environment due to the complexity of environmental samples. Therefore, a purification method for analyzing the carbon isotope ratios of three phenolic endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (nonylphenols (NPs), octylphenol (OP), and bisphenol A(BPA)) in sediment and water samples was developed in this study. The silica gel column was used to isolate EDCs from complex matrices with multiple organic solvents. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to quantify the targeted EDCs and analyze the purity of the extracts in full-scan mode. The interfering peaks disappeared, the baseline was sharply reduced, and all the target compounds appeared as single peaks in the chromatogram after purification. Analyzing the standard samples with known isotope ratios showed that the purification treatment did not cause isotope fractionation. The isotopic difference before and after purification was less than 0.04. The method was successfully used to analyze the isotope composition of BPA, OP, and NPs in river water and sediments in the Guangzhou River, Pearl River Delta, South China. Sewage discharge significantly affected the carbon isotope values of BPA, OP and NPs in Guangzhou rivers, suggesting that sewage discharge is the main source of EDCs in the Guangzhou rivers. There is a significant correlation between the isotopic values and concentrations of OP and NPs in sediments, indicating that they may undergo chemical transformation.

Keywords: purification method; endocrine disrupting compounds; compound-specific stable isotope; environmental samples (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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