Analysis of PPB amounts of aldehydes in water by solid phase extraction

Ozonation is commonly used in drinking water treatment technology. Ozone reacts with natural organic substances present in water to produce a number of by-products. Aldehydes are the important class of ozonation by-products due to their health effects. The determination of aldehydes in water by conventional analytical techniques is difficult because they are polar, unstable and exist at low concentration. A modern method to determine aldehydes in drinking water applies derivatization with 0-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl) hydroxylamine (PFBOA) and liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). The objective of this study was to improve the method by applying solid phase derivatization and extraction. C18 Baker SPE sorbents were used for simultaneous derivatization and enrichment of aldehydes. Detection limits with GC/ECD technique were in the low ppb range.