Simultaneous determination of linear alkylbenzenesulfonates, alkylphenol polyethoxylates, and nonylphenol by high-performance liquid chromatography

Linear4-alkylbenzenesulfonates(LAS),4-alkylphenolpoly-ethoxylates(APEO)(l.e.,4-octylphenolpolyethoxylates(OPEO)and4-nonylphenolpolyethoxylates(NPEO)),and4-nonylphenol(NP)aresimultaneouslydeterminedbyre-versed-phasehigh-performanceliquidchromatography(HPL-C)usingoctylsilicacolumnsandwater/acetonltrllegradientelution.LASareseparatedaccordingtotheiralkylchainlengthsandcoelutionofNPEOandNPIsobservedIncontrasttotheseparationofOPEOandNPEO.ThedeterminationofoligomerdistributionsofAPEOandquantitationofNP,NP1EO,andNP2EOrequireadditionalInformationattainablebynor-mal-phaseHPLC.Recoveriesof85-100%werefoundforLAS,APEO,andNPIsolatedbySoxhletextractionunderbasicconditionsfromlaundrydetergentpowders,sewagesludges,sludge-amendedsoils,andriversediments.RelativestandarddeviationsforallanalytesInthedifferentmatricesdidnotexceed6%.DetectionlimitswithUVfluorescencedetectionare95ngforNP,80ngforLAS,and65ngforNPEOwithrespecttoInjectedamounts.