Use of Bonded Phase Silica Sorbents for the Sampling of Priority Pollutants in Wastewaters

A cartridge sampling technique for priority pollutants in wastewater has been developed using bonded phase silica adsorbents. This technique has been compared to the EPA Method 625 which requires liquid-liquid extraction of the wastewater. The disposable bonded reversed-phase cartridges were evaluated for all the phenols and 22 neutral pollutants. These compounds were chosen purposely to cover a wide range of solubility and polarity characteristics. The cartridge extractions of spiked water samples yielded recoveries between 50 and 110%, which were better or equal to recoveries on the same samples using Method 625 liquid extraction. The relative standard deviation of overall recoveries for all pollutants was less than 15%. The detection limits achieved were approximately 50 and 10 ppb (in water) for the phenols and neutrals, respectively.