Determination of Diphenylamine Antioxidants in Wastewater/Biosolids and Sediment

Diphenylamine derivatives are widely used as antioxidant additives in vehicle engine oils, commercial/industrial lubricants and in products composed of rubber. Their presence in the environment results primarily from human activity, and there are no known environmental measurements of these substances in any media. In this study, seventeen components of three diphenylamine substances, 2-propanone, reaction products with diphenylamine (PREPOD); 1,4-benzenediamine, N,N’-mixed phenyl and tolyl derivatives (BENPAT); and benzenamine, N-phenyl-, reaction products with styrene and 2,4,4-trimethylpentene (BNST), were identified and quantified from their associated tech mixtures by Frontier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer (FT-ICR-MS) and flame ionization detector (GC-FID), and a method was developed for the determination of their presence in wastewater, biosolids and sediment samples using gas chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The methods were applied to the ...