Determination of Nonylphenol Polyethoxylates in Industrial Water Effluents by Liquid Chromatography/Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry

In this study, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to analyze the trace amounts of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPnEOs) in industrial water effluents. The modifier of acetic acid added in mobile phase and the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) coupled with linear ion trap mass spectrometry were adopted to improve the sensitivity of NPnEOs analysis. The modification extraction technique of NIEA W801.50B method announced by Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency was used as sample preparation. The analytical results show that the LODs of NPnEO analytes were 0.02-10 ng/mL. The proposed method has been successfully applied to monitor trace NPnEOs in real industrial water effluents.