Determination of chlorophenols and their photodegradation products in aqueous solutions using liquid-liquid extraction and solid phase microextraction : a comparison

A comparison of two methods for the separation of chlorophenols and hydroxybenzenes in aquatic environment has been performed. The first method (A) was liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) with methylene chloride as an extracting solvent. The second method (method B) was solid phase microextraction (SPME). Polyacrylate fibre (PA) was applied for the separation of chlorophenols and their photodegradation products. In both cases quantitative analyses were performed by GC-MS. Analytical conditions for each method were established. Recovery, standard deviation, and limit of detection (LOD) for each method were also determined. The obtained results have shown that LLE is a useful preconcentration method for the determination of chlorophenols in aqueous samples. However, it is inappropriate for the determination of hydroxybenzenes and chloroquinones. This study has demonstrated that SPME is a useful technique for trace analysis of chlorophenols and hydroxybenzenes in water. It offers LODs in the range 3.9-22.5 ng L -1 for chlorophenols and 0.46-1.21 μg L -1 for hydroxybenzenes.