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Simultaneous analysis of chlorophenols, alkylphenols, nitrophenols and cresols in wastewater effluents, using solid phase extraction and further determination by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Padilla Sánchez, Juan Antonio,Plaza Bolaños, Patricia,Romero González, Roberto,Barco Bonilla, Nieves,Martínez Vidal, José Luis,Garrido Frenich, Antonia

Abstract

An analytical methodology has been developed for the simultaneous extraction of 13 phenolic compounds, including chlorophenols (CPs), nitrophenols (NTPs), cresols and alkylphenols (APs) in different types of wastewater (WW) effluents. A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method has been optimized prior to the determination by gas chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (GC-QqQ-MS/MS). Due to the complexity of the matrix, a comparison study of matrix-matched-calibration (MMC) and standard addition calibration (SAC) was carried out for quantification purposes. The optimized procedure was validated using the SAC approach since it provided the most adequate quantification results (in terms of recovery and precision values). Recoveries were in the range 60-135% (0.5 μg L-1), 70-115% (1 μg L -1), and 78-120% (5 μg L-1), with precision values (expressed as relative standard deviation, RSD) ≤30% (except for 2-nitrophenol) involving intra-day and inter-day precision studies. Limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) were also evaluated, and LOQs ranged from 0.03 μg L-1 to 2.5 μg L-1. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of 8 real WW effluent samples, finding some phenolic compounds (e.g. 2-chlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and 4-tert-octylphenol) at concentrations higher than the established LOQs.

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Else ie Edi o ial Sys em( m) o Talan a Manusc ip D a Manusc ip Numbe : TAL-D-11-00529R1 Ti le: Simul aneous analysis o chlo ophenols, alkylphenols, ni ophenols and c esols in was ewa e e luen s, using solid phase ex ac ion and u he de e mina ion by gas ch oma og aphy- andem mass spec ome y A icle Type: Full Leng h A icle Keywo ds: Phenols; Was ewa e ; Solid-phase ex ac ion (SPE); Gas ch oma og aphy-mass spec ome y (GC-MS); S anda d addi ion calib a ion; Ma ix-ma ched calib a ion. Co esponding Au ho : D . A. Ga ido F enich, Ph.D Co esponding Au ho 's Ins i u ion: Resea ch G oup Analy ical Chemis y o Con aminan s Fi s Au ho : Juan An onio Padilla-Sánchez O de o Au ho s: Juan An onio Padilla-Sánchez; Pa icia Plaza-Bolaños; Robe o Rome o-González; Nie es Ba co-Bonilla; José Luis Ma ínez-Vidal; A. Ga ido F enich, Ph.D Abs ac : An analy ical me hodology has been de eloped o he simul aneous ex ac ion o 13 phenolic compounds, including chlo ophenols (CPs), ni ophenols (NTPs), c esols and alkylphenols (APs) in di e en ypes o was ewa e (WW) e luen s. A solid-phase ex ac ion (SPE) me hod has been op imized p io o he de e mina ion by gas ch oma og aphy coupled o iple quad upole andem mass spec ome y (GC-QqQ-MS/MS). Due o he complexi y o he ma ix, a compa ison s udy o ma ix-ma ched-calib a ion (MMC) and s anda d addi ion calib a ion (SAC) was ca ied ou o quan i ica ion pu poses. The op imized p ocedu e was alida ed using he SAC app oach since i p o ided he mos adequa e quan i ica ion esul s (in e ms o eco e y and p ecision alues). Reco e ies we e in he ange 60- - and 78- wi h p ecision alues (exp essed as ela i e s anda d de ia ion, RSD) ≤ 30% (excep o 2-ni ophenol) in ol ing in a-day and in e -day p ecision s udies. Limi s o de ec ion (LODs) and quan i ica ion (LOQs) we e also e alua ed, an - -1. The p oposed me hod was applied o he analysis o 8 eal WW e luen samples, inding some phenolic compounds (e.g. 2- chlo ophenol, 2,4,6- ichlo ophenol and 4- e -oc ylphenol) a concen a ions highe han he es ablished LOQs. 1 Simul aneous analysis o chlo ophenols, alkylphenols, ni ophenols and c esols 1 in was ewa e e luen s, using solid phase ex ac ion and u he de e mina ion 2 by gas ch oma og aphy– andem mass spec ome y 3 4 J. A. Padilla-Sáncheza,1, P. Plaza-Bolañosa,b, R. Rome o-Gonzáleza, N. Ba co-5 Bonillaa, J. L. Ma ínez-Vidala, N. Ba co-Bonillaa,1, A. Ga ido-F enicha* 6 7 aDepa men o Analy ical Chemis y, Uni e si y o Alme ia, Ca e e a Sac amen o 8 s/n, E-04071 Alme ia, Spain 9 bDepa men o Analy ical Chemis y, Uni e si y o G anada, E-18071 G anada, 10 Spain 11 12 13 * Co espondence o: An onia Ga ido F enich, Depa men o Analy ical Chemis y, 14 Alme ia Uni e si y o Alme íia, 04120, Alme iía, Spain. 15 Tel: +34950015985; Fax: +34950015483; e-mail: [email p o ec ed] 16 17 1 Bo h au ho s con ibu ed equally o his wo k. 18 19 Ma ked-up manusc ip 2 20 Abs ac 21 An analy ical me hodology has been de eloped o he simul aneous ex ac ion o 22 13 phenolic compounds, including chlo ophenols (CPs), ni ophenols (NTPs), c esols 23 and alkylphenols (APs) in di e en ypes o was ewa e (WW) e luen s. A solid-24 phase ex ac ion (SPE) me hod has been op imized p io o he de e mina ion by gas 25 ch oma og aphy coupled o iple quad upole andem mass spec ome y (GC-QqQ-26 MS/MS). Due o he complexi y o he ma ix, a compa ison s udy o ma ix-ma ched-27 calib a ion (MMC) and s anda d addi ion calib a ion (SAC) was ca ied ou o 28 quan i ica ion pu poses. The op imized p ocedu e was alida ed using he SAC 29 app oach since i p o ided he mos adequa e quan i ica ion esul s (in e ms o 30 eco e y and p ecision alues). Reco e ies we e in he ange 60–135% (0.5 g L−1), 31 70–115% (1 g L−1), and 78–120% (5 g L−1), wi h p ecision alues (exp essed as 32 ela i e s anda d de ia ion, RSD) ≤ 30% (excep o 2-ni ophenol) in ol ing in a-33 day and in e -day p ecision s udies we e ob ained. Limi s o de ec ion (LODs) and 34 quan i ica ion (LOQs) we e also e alua ed, and LOQs anged om 0.03 g L-1 o 2.5 35 g L-1. The p oposed me hod was applied o o he analysis o 8 eal WW e luen 36 samples, inding some phenolic compounds (e.g. 2-chlo ophenol, 2,4,6-37 ichlo ophenol and 4- e -oc ylphenol) a concen a ions highe han he es ablished 38 LOQs es ablished du ing he me hod alida ion. 39 Keywo ds: Phenols, was ewa e , solid-phase ex ac ion (SPE), gas ch oma og aphy-40 mass spec ome y (GC-MS), s anda d addi ion calib a ion, ma ix-ma ched 41 calib a ion. 42 43 Fo ma ed: None 3 44 1. In oduc ion 45 Phenolic compounds can be ound in was ewa e (WW) e luen s ia di e en 46 sou ces. They can be de ec ed in his ype o samples because o hei use in plas ics 47 [1], d ug manu ac u ing, phy osani a y p oduc s o lea he colo ing [2], by 48 an h opogenic emission [2] o and by he use o ea men s wi h ae obic o anae obic 49 mic oo ganisms [4]. Some phenols show high oxici y, es ogenic [5] and an i-50 and ogenic ac i i y [6], andas well as hey can ac as endoc ine dis up e s [7]. 51 Phenols can be classi ied in a wide ange o amilies. The mos s udied analy es in 52 wa e a e chlo ophenols (CPs) [1] and alkylphenols (APs) [8]. Howe e , he Uni ed 53 S a es En i onmen al P o ec ion Agency (US EPA) classi ies CPs, ni ophenols and 54 APs as p io i y pollu an s [9] and i has es ablished a maximum con amina ion le el 55 (MCL) o pen achlo ophenol (PCP) o 1 µg L-1 in d inking wa e s [10]. On he o he 56 hand, he Eu opean Union (EU) has adop ed a lis o p io i y subs ances in he ield o 57 wa e policy, including 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP), 4- e -oc ylphenol (4- e OP) and 58 PCP [11]. Fu he mo e, maximum allowable concen a ions (MAC) ha e been 59 es ablished o NP (2 g L-1) and PCP (1 g L-1) in inland and o he su ace wa e s 60 [12]. Howe e , i mus be poin ed ou ha legisla ion o WWs is s ill e y sca ce, and 61 he alues es ablished in d inking wa e a e usually used as guide in WWs. Bea ing in 62 mind hese ac s, he de elopmen o sensi i e analy ical me hodologies o he 63 simul aneous de e mina ion o phenols belonging o di e en g oups, such as CPs, 64 APs, ni ophenols (NTPs) and c esols (also known as me hyl-phenols) wi h di e en 65 pola i y ange (log Kow 1.77-5.01) is needed in o de o p o ide a comple e o e iew 66 o he occu ence o phenolic compounds in WW e luen s. 67 4 Se e al ex ac ion echniques ha e been applied o he ex ac ion o phenols om 68 aqueous samples, such as solid-phase ex ac ion (SPE) [8,13-15] and liquid-liquid 69 ex ac ion (LLE) [16]. Recen ly, mic oex ac ion echniques, such as solid-phase 70 mic oex ac ion (SPME) [17-19], s i ba so p i e ex ac ion (SBSE) [19-21], liquid 71 phase mic oex ac ion (LPME) [22] o dispe si e liquid-liquid mic oex ac ion 72 (DLLME) [23] ha e been appliedused. Howe e , mos o hem ha e only been used 73 o he simul aneous analysis o only one o ew phenols belonging o he same amily 74 such as APs [18,20] and CPs [17]. I is well-known ha SPE is he mos used 75 echnique in wa e analysis [24] due o he less educed exposi ionu e and 76 con amina ion by o ganic sol en s, he high p e-concen a ion ac o s ha make 77 possible o a oididing e apo a ion s eps, he semi-au oma ion o he ex ac ion 78 p ocess, educing he sample handling, and i allows he ex ac ion o compounds wi h 79 di e en physico-chemical p ope ies. The applica ion o mic oex ac ion echniques 80 is inc easing bu se e al disad an ages, such as cos and li e ime o ibe s and ba s, o 81 he limi ed scope o a wide pola i y ange can hinde hei u iliza ion. 82 83 Fo he de e mina ion o phenolic compounds, gas ch oma og aphy (GC) [13,25] o 84 liquid ch oma og aphy (LC) [26,27] a e he p edominan he mos used echniques, 85 mainly coupled o andem mass spec ome y (MS/MS) [28-31]. When GC is used, a 86 de i a iza ion s ep is equi ed in o de o imp o e he ch oma og aphic pe o mance 87 and sensi i i y o he selec ed compounds, and se e al de i a iza ing eagen s can be 88 applied [32,33]. 89 A well-known c i ical poin in he analysis o WW is he ma ix e ec [34]. In o de 90 o minimize i , di e en calib a ion me hods such as ma ix-ma ched calib a ion 91 5 (MMC) [33,35], s anda d addi ion calib a ion (SAC) [34] and he use o iso ope-92 labeled in e nal s anda ds [36,37] ha e been employed o complex ma ixes. 93 Quan i ica ion based on iso ope-labeled in e nal s anda ds has disad an ages due o 94 he expensi eness o hese s anda ds and hei limi ed a ailabili y. MMC is o en he 95 mos used quan i ica ion me hod in ace analysis. Howe e , he lack o blank 96 ma ixes and he need o s o ing hem can make his app oach logis ically one ous 97 and no necessa ily accu a e. SAC is he mos adequa e echnique o use when i is 98 di icul o ind a blank samples o he s udied ma ix s udied, bu a calib a ion se is 99 equi ed o each sample, inc easing he o al numbe o injec ions and he ime spen 100 in da a p ocessing. 101 Ano he p oblem ela ed o he de e mina ion o phenols in WW is ha depending 102 on he ype o WW ea men , WW e luen s can ha e di e en amoun s o suspended 103 pa icula e ma e (SPM). This SPM is no mally disca ded du ing he ex ac ion 104 p ocess by il a ion in mos o he analy ical me hods epo ed in li e a u e [38]. 105 Howe e , a ecen s udy [35] has demons a ed ha ce ain analy es can be e ained in 106 he SPM, depending on i s pola i y. The e o e, i should be necessa y o e alua e he 107 p esence o phenols in bo h phases in o de o de e mine whe he he SPM mus be 108 disca ded o no . 109 Fu he mo e, i mus be poin ed ou ha many a icles epo ing simul aneous 110 ex ac ion and de e mina ion o di e en classes o phenols (including APs, CPs and, 111 NTPs) in wa e [39,40] can be ound. Howe e , hey ha e been de eloped o he 112 analysis o his ype o compounds in su ace wa e , and hey a e no alid o he 113 analysis in WW samples, due o hey a e mo e complex ma ices wi h di e en 114 physico-chemical cha ac e is ics (SPM le els, o ganic ma e , e c.). 115 6 The e o e, Iin his s udy, a simul aneous SPE ex ac ion by SPE and de e mina ion 116 o di e en phenolic amilies (, namely CPs, NTPs, c esols and APs), has been 117 de eloped o WW e luen samples. In addi ion wo no el aspec s o his wo k 118 mus be poin ed ou : (i) a s udy o he p esence o phenolic compounds in he 119 SPM acco ding o he s a egy ecen ly p oposed by Ba co-Bonilla e al [35], and 120 (ii) a compa ison o MMC and SAC in o de o e alua e he bes quan i ica ion 121 s a egy o phenolic compounds in complex ma ices such as WWs. Fo ha , A 122 s udy o he p esence o phenolic compounds in he SPM has been ca ied ou 123 acco ding o he s a egy ecen ly p oposed by Ba co-Bonilla e al [35]. Due o he 124 complexi y o he ma ix and he di icul y o ob ain blank samples, a s udy o 125 quan i ica ion s udy using MMC and SAC was de eloped in o de o e alua e he bes 126 quan i ica ion s a egy. T wo di e en WW e luen s we e s udied indi idually: 127 memb ane bio eac o (MBR, low SPM con en ) and anae obic pond (ANAP, high 128 SPM con en ). The op imized SPE and quan i ica ion me hod was alida ed in bo h 129 ypes o WWs e luen samples. 130 131 2. Expe imen al 132 2.1. Chemicals and ma e ials 133 Phenolic compounds s anda ds, 2-ni ophenol (2-NTP), 4-ni ophenol (4-NTP), 2,4-134 dime hylphenol (2,4-DMP), 2-CP, 4-chlo ophenol (4-CP), 2,4-dichlo ophenol (2,4-135 diCP), 2,4,5- ichlo ophenol (2,4,5- iCP), 2,4,6- ichlo ophenol (2,4,6- iCP) and 4-136 n-NP we e ob ained om Fluka (Buchs, Swi ze land). On he o he hand, 3-137 ni ophenol (3-NTP), 4-chlo o-3-me hylphenol (4-C-3-MP), 4- e OP and PCP we e 138 supplied by Supelco (Belle on e, PA, USA). Pu i ies we e always >97%. A s anda d 139 7 solu ion (100 mg L−1) o iso opically labeled PCP ([13C6]-PCP) was used as in e nal 140 s anda d (IS) and i was ob ained om D . E hens o e (Augsbu g, Ge many). S ock 141 s anda d solu ions o indi idual compounds (wi h concen a ions anging om 200 o 142 450 mg L-1) we e p epa ed by exac weighing o he powde o liquid and dissolu ion 143 in 50 mL o ace one. These solu ions we e hen s o ed unde e ige a ion (T <5 ºC). 144 A wo king s anda d solu ion o he 13 phenolic compounds (2 mg L-1 o each 145 compound) was p epa ed by app op ia e dilu ion o he s ock solu ions wi h ace one, 146 and i was s o ed unde e ige a ion (T <5 ºC). A wo king s anda d solu ion o [13C6]-147 PCP (22 mg L-1) was p epa ed by app op ia e dilu ion o he s anda d solu ion wi h 148 ace one and s o ed unde he a o emen ioned condi ions. HPLC-g ade me hanol 149 (MeOH), anhyd ide ace ic acid (AAA) (99.9%), and py idine (Py) (99.8%) we e 150 pu chased om Sigma-Ald ich (Mad id, Spain). Ace one and hyd ochlo ic acid (HCl) 151 we e ob ained om J.T. Bake (De en e , Ne he lands). Dichlo ome hane (DCM) was 152 pu chased om Riedel-de Haën (Seelze-Hanno e , Ge many). Ul apu e wa e was 153 ob ained om a Milli-Q G adien wa e sys em (Millipo e, Bed o d, MA, USA). 154 Thi y mm cellulose il e s and 47-mm glass mic o ibe il e s om Wha man 155 (Maids one, England, UK) and 0.45-µm HNWP nylon memb ane il e s om 156 Millipo e (Ca ig wohill, Coun y Co k, I eland) we e also a ailable o il a ion 157 s ages. Fo SPE, Oasis HLB (200 mg, 6 cm3) ca idges we e ob ained om Wa e s 158 (Mil o d, MA, USA). 159 160 2.2. Appa a us 161 A GC sys em Va ian 3800 (Va ian Ins umen s, Sunny ale, CA, USA) equipped wi h 162 elec onic low con ol was in e aced o a 1200L iple quad upole (QqQ) mass 163 8 spec ome e . Samples we e injec ed in o an SPI/1079 spli /spli less p og ammed-164 empe a u e injec o using a Combi Pal (CTC Analy ics AG, Zwingen, Swi ze land) 165 wi h a 100-µL sy inge. A used-silica un ea ed capilla y column (2 m × 0.25 mm i.d.) 166 om Supelco was used as p e-column connec ed o a VF-5 ms Fac o Fou capilla y 167 column (30 m × 0.25 mm i.d. × 0.25 µm ilm hickness) pu chased om Va ian. 168 Helium was used as ca ie gas (99.9999%) a a cons an low a e o 1 mL min−1, and 169 a gon (99.999%) was used as collision gas. The mass spec ome e was ope a ed in 170 elec on ioniza ion (EI) mode a 70 eV. The mass spec ome e was calib a ed e e y 171 ou days wi h pe luo o ibu ylamine. Va ian Wo ks a ion so wa e was used o 172 ins umen con ol and da a analysis. 173 A Reax-2 o a y agi a o om Heidolph (Schwabach, Ge many) was used o 174 agi a ion o he de i a iza ion mix u e. An analy ical balance AB204-S om Me le 175 Toledo (G ei ensee, Swi ze land) and a o a y e apo a o R-114 (Büchi, Flawil, 176 Swi ze land) we e used du ing ex ac ion and s anda d p epa a ion. The ho izon al 177 shake used in he dis ibu ion s udy was ob ained om P-Selec a (Selec a, Ba celona, 178 Spain). 179 180 2.3. Sampling 181 WW u ban e luen s om wo di e en ea men s, namely, MBR and ANAP, wi h 182 low and high SPM con en espec i ely, we e collec ed om WW ea men plan 183 (WWTP) o he ounda ion Cen e o New Wa e Technologies (“Cen o de las 184 Nue as Tecnologías del Agua”, CENTA, Se ille, Spain). This WWTP has 41,000 m2 185 and i cu en ly holds mo e han 20 sys ems wi h di e en echnologies. Addi ional 186 physicochemical da a ela ed o he ea men s e alua ed in his s udy can be ound in 187 15 Reco e y and p ecision we e e alua ed using bo h quan i ica ion app oaches. I can 329 be obse ed ha in WW e luen s wi h high SPM, such as ANAP, MMC did no 330 p o ided adequa e esul s o he lowe spiked concen a ions (0.5 and 1 g L-1). 331 Reco e ies and in a and in e -day p ecision o mos o compounds we e below 60% 332 and o e 30%, espec i ely o hese wo concen a ion le els. On he con a y, o 5 333 g L-1, eco e y alues we e in he ange 60-120%, excep o 4-n-NP (51%) and 334 in a and in e -day p ecision we e <12%. These esul s (Table 2) sugges ed ha MMC 335 is no a sui able op ion o he adequa e quan i ica ion o a e y low concen a ions o 336 phenols in WWs e luen s wi h high SPM. On he o he hand, when SAC was used, 337 eco e ies o all compounds we e in ange 60-125%, excep o 4- e OP (135%) a 338 he lowes o i ica ion le el (0.5 g L-1). In a and in e -day p ecision alues we e 339 <27% and <31% o all compounds, espec i ely. As i is shown in Table 2, he SAC 340 app oach is mo e app op ia e o WW e luen s wi h high SPM con en . Linea i y was 341 s udied in he ange 10-150 g L-1 (excep o NTPs which was 100-300 g L-1) and 342 he ob ained de e mina ion coe icien s (R2) we e in he ange 0.9912 (3-NTP)-0.9999 343 (2-CP, 2,4,5- T iCP, PCP and 4-n-NP a ious compounds) o ANAP (Table 4). 344 Fo WW e luen s wi h low SPM, such as MBR (Table 3), he eco e ies ob ained 345 when MMC was used o he h ee le els assayed anged om 62-119%, excep o 4-346 n-NP, wi h eco e ies lowe han 56%. Despi e he adequa e eco e y esul s p o ided 347 by MMC o all he s udied o i ica ion le els, in gene al, RSD alues we e <30% 348 only o he highes spiked le el s udied (5 g L-1), as i can be obse ed in Table 3, 349 whe eas a he lowes concen a ion le els e alua ed (0.5 and 1 g L-1), in a and 350 in e -day p ecision anged om 22 o 113%. On he o he hand, he applica ion o 351 SAC on MBR WW samples yielded eco e y alues in he ange 70-120%, excep o 352 4-CP (125%) a 0.5 g L-1. Besides, RSD alues we e always <28% o in a-day 353 16 p ecision and <27% o in e -day p ecision in all cases, excep o 2-NTP, which was 354 41% a 0.5 g L-1. In consequence, i can be concluded ha o MBR ea ed WW 355 e luen s, SAC was also he mos sui able me hod o an adequa e quan i ica ion o 356 WW e luen s wi h low SPM con en , such as MBR WW samples (Table 3). 357 Fu he mo e, linea i y was also e alua ed o MBR and R2 alues anged om 0.9943 358 (4-NTP) o 0.9999 (2-CP, 4-CP, 2,4,6- iCP and 4-n-NP). 359 Conside ing hese esul s, he SAC me hod should be applied o a eliable 360 quan i ica ion o phenols in WW e luen s samples o compensa e ma ix e ec s on 361 he signal a ia ion du ing de ec ion and his does no depend on he SPM con en o 362 he WW. The SAC me hodology was he e o e applied o he quan i ica ion o 363 phenols in eal samples. 364 365 3.4. Es ima ion o he lowe limi s o he me hodology 366 Despi e o he es ima ion o he ueness and p ecision ca ied ou in he p e ious 367 sec ion, o he pe o mance cha ac e is ics o he me hod, such as limi s o de ec ion 368 (LODs) and quan i ica ion (LOQs) we e s udied. LODs and LOQs we e de e mined 369 as he lowes concen a ion le el ha yielded a signal- o-noise (S/N) a io o 3 and 10, 370 and hey a e shown in Table 4. LODs and LOQs we e de e mined in WW sample 371 blanks o each phenolic compound s udied. LODs we e om 0.01 o 1 g L-1 and 372 LOQs anged om 0.03 g L-1 o 2.5 g L-1 o ANAP and MBR (Table 4). I mus 373 be no iced ha simila alues we e ob ained o bo h ypes o WW e luen s, excep 374 o 2-NTP and 4-C-3-MP, which showed highe LOD and LOQ alues in ANAP han 375 in MBR. This could be explained aking in o accoun ha he SPM con en is highe 376 17 in ANAP, inc easing he amoun o co-ex ac ed ma e ial and a ec ing he es ima ion 377 o he lowe limi s o he me hod. 378 379 3.5. Applica ion o he analysis o eal WW e luen samples 380 The de eloped me hodology was applied o he analysis o 8 WW e luen samples 381 om he CENTA, ob ained a e he applica ion o di e en WW ea men s 382 employed in his WWTP. To assu e he quali y o he esul s and a oid e o s, he 383 quan i ica ion o he phenolic compounds was achie ed using he SAC app oach. An 384 in e nal quali y con ol (IQC) was pe o med consis ing o he analysis o spiked 385 blank WW samples a 1 g L-1 (excep o 3-NTP and 4-NTP a 5 g L-1), which we e 386 used o assess he ex ac ion e iciency and a SAC calib a ion cu e o check linea i y 387 and sensi i i y. Se e al phenolic compounds we e ound o e he LOQs es ablished 388 by he me hod, showing he ob ained esul s in Table 5. 2-CP and 2,4,6- iCP we e 389 ound in six and i e samples, espec i ely, wi h concen a ions anging om 0.04 o 390 0.20 g L-1 o 2-CP and om 0.05 o 0.10 g L-1 o 2,4,6- iCP. 4-CP and 4- e OP 391 we e ound in ou samples, and he concen a ions anged om 0.04 o 0.08 g L-1 392 and 0.04 o 0.16 g L-1 espec i ely. 2-CP, 2,4-DiCP, 4- e OP, PCP and 4-n-NP we e 393 ound simul aneously in one o he samples (Table 5). I mus be highligh ed ha 394 phenolic compounds we e no ound o e he MCLs and MACs es ablished by he 395 EPA and he EU o hese compounds [10,12]. Finally, Figu e 4 shows a posi i e 396 sample o 4- e OP de ec ed in a WW e luen sample a 0.12 g L-1. 397 398 5. Conclusions 399 18 A single ex ac ion me hod o he simul aneous ex ac ion o CPs, APs, NTPs and 400 c esols in WW e luen samples has been de eloped using SPE. A dis ibu ion s udy 401 o he phenolic compounds be ween he aqueous phase and he SPM was ca ied ou , 402 e i ying ha he SPM could be in ac disca ded du ing he ex ac ion since only 403 phenolic compounds wi h high log Kow we e ound in he SPM a a negligible 404 pe cen age. Due o he di icul y o ind WW blank samples and o ha e good 405 accu acy in he quan i ica ion, a s udy using MMC e sus SAC was pe o med in wo 406 di e en ea ed WW e luen samples (ANAP and MBR) showing ha SAC is he 407 mos sui able quan i ica ion app oach. The me hod was alida ed s udying eco e y, 408 in a and in e -day p ecision, lowe limi s (LODs and LOQs) and linea i y. 409 De e mina ion o he analy es was ca ied ou using GC-QqQ-MS/MS ope a ing in 410 SRM mode. The me hod was applied o WW e luen samples wi h sa is ac o y 411 esul s, obse ing ha phenols o se e al amilies we e simul aneously de ec ed in 412 WW e luen s, highligh ing he po en ial o analy ical me hods ha allows he 413 simul aneous de e mina ion o se e al classes o phenolic compounds. 414 415 Acknowledgmen s 416 The au ho s g a e ully acknowledge he Andalusian Regional Go e nmen (Regional 417 Minis y o Inno a ion, Science, and En e p ise-FEDER) o inancial suppo 418 (P ojec Re . P08-RNM-03892). PPB acknowledges o pe sonal unding h ough 419 Juan de la Cie a P og am (Spanish Minis y o Science and Inno a ion-Eu opean 420 Social Fund). RRG is also g a e ul o pe sonal unding h ough Ramón y Cajal 421 P og am (Spanish Minis y o Science and Inno a ion-Eu opean Social Fund). NBB 422 is g a e ul o he p e-doc o al g an om he a o emen ioned p ojec . CENTA is 423 g a e ully acknowledged o p o iding WWs e luen s samples. 424 19 425 426 20 Re e ences 427 [1] S. Eke , K.J. Fik e , En i on. 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Compa ison o he eco e y alues ob ained applying di e en elu ion sol en s 507 o he ex ac ion o spiked WW samples a 0.5 g L-1. Abb e ia ions: DCM: 508 dichlo ome hane; Sequen ial: sequen ial elu ion. 509 Fig. 2. To al ion ch oma og am (TIC) o an ex ac ed spiked WW sample (5 g L-1) 510 ob ained by GC-QqQ-MS/MS. Fo compound ab e ia ions, see Table 1. 511 Fig. 3. Calib a ion cu es in he ange 10-150 g L-1 o 4- e OP when SAC and 512 MMC we e used: a) ANAP; b) MBR. Abb e ia ions: ANAP: anae obic pond; MBR: 513 memb ane bio eac o ; MMC: ma ix-ma ched calib a ion; SAC: s anda d addi ion 514 calib a ion; 4- e OP: 4- e oc ylphenol 515 Fig. 4. Selec ed- eac ion moni o ing (SRM) (a) ch oma og am and (b) MS/MS 516 spec um o 4- e OP (0.12 g L-1) ound in a eal WW sample and (c) SRM 517 ch oma og am and (d) MS/MS spec um o a SAC s anda d (50 g L-1). 518 519 520 521 3 1. In oduc ion 39 Phenolic compounds can be ound in was ewa e (WW) e luen s ia di e en 40 sou ces. They can be de ec ed in his ype o samples because o hei use in plas ics 41 [1], d ug manu ac u ing, phy osani a y p oduc s o lea he colo ing [2], by 42 an h opogenic emission [2] and by he use o ea men s wi h ae obic o anae obic 43 mic oo ganisms [4]. Some phenols show high oxici y, es ogenic [5] and an i- 44 and ogenic ac i i y [6], and hey can ac as endoc ine dis up e s [7]. 45 Phenols can be classi ied in a wide ange o amilies. The mos s udied analy es in 46 wa e a e chlo ophenols (CPs) [1] and alkylphenols (APs) [8]. Howe e , he Uni ed 47 S a es En i onmen al P o ec ion Agency (US EPA) classi ies CPs, ni ophenols and 48 APs as p io i y pollu an s [9] and i has es ablished a maximum con amina ion le el 49 (MCL) o pen achlo ophenol (PCP) o 1 µg L-1 in d inking wa e s [10]. On he o he 50 hand, he Eu opean Union (EU) has adop ed a lis o p io i y subs ances in he ield o 51 wa e policy, including 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP), 4- e -oc ylphenol (4- e OP) and 52 PCP [11]. Fu he mo e, maximum allowable concen a ions (MAC) ha e been 53 es ablished o NP (2 g L-1) and PCP (1 g L-1) in inland and o he su ace wa e s 54 [12]. Howe e , i mus be poin ed ou ha legisla ion o WWs is s ill e y sca ce, and 55 he alues es ablished in d inking wa e a e usually used as guide in WWs. Bea ing in 56 mind hese ac s, he de elopmen o sensi i e analy ical me hodologies o he 57 simul aneous de e mina ion o phenols belonging o di e en g oups, such as CPs, 58 APs, ni ophenols (NTPs) and c esols (also known as me hyl-phenols) wi h di e en 59 pola i y ange (log Kow 1.77-5.01) is needed in o de o p o ide a comple e o e iew 60 o he occu ence o phenolic compounds in WW e luen s. 61 4 Se e al ex ac ion echniques ha e been applied o he ex ac ion o phenols om 62 aqueous samples, such as solid-phase ex ac ion (SPE) [8,13-15] and liquid-liquid 63 ex ac ion (LLE) [16]. Recen ly, mic oex ac ion echniques, such as solid-phase 64 mic oex ac ion (SPME) [17-19], s i ba so p i e ex ac ion (SBSE) [19-21], liquid 65 phase mic oex ac ion (LPME) [22] o dispe si e liquid-liquid mic oex ac ion 66 (DLLME) [23] ha e been applied. Howe e , mos o hem ha e been used o he 67 simul aneous analysis o only one o ew phenols belonging o he same amily such 68 as APs [18,20] and CPs [17]. I is well-known ha SPE is he mos used echnique in 69 wa e analysis [24] due o he educed exposi ion and con amina ion by o ganic 70 sol en s, he high p e-concen a ion ac o s a oiding e apo a ion s eps, he semi- 71 au oma ion o he p ocess, and i allows he ex ac ion o compounds wi h di e en 72 physico-chemical p ope ies. The applica ion o mic oex ac ion echniques is 73 inc easing bu se e al disad an ages, such as cos and li e ime o ibe s and ba s, o 74 he limi ed scope o a wide pola i y ange can hinde hei u iliza ion. 75 Fo he de e mina ion o phenolic compounds, gas ch oma og aphy (GC) [13,25] o 76 liquid ch oma og aphy (LC) [26,27] a e he p edominan echniques, mainly coupled 77 o andem mass spec ome y (MS/MS) [28-31]. When GC is used, a de i a iza ion 78 s ep is equi ed in o de o imp o e he ch oma og aphic pe o mance and sensi i i y 79 o he selec ed compounds, and se e al de i a iza ing eagen s can be applied [32,33]. 80 A well-known c i ical poin in he analysis o WW is ma ix e ec [34]. In o de o 81 minimize i , di e en calib a ion me hods such as ma ix-ma ched calib a ion (MMC) 82 [33,35], s anda d addi ion calib a ion (SAC) [34] and he use o iso ope-labeled 83 in e nal s anda ds [36,37] ha e been employed o complex ma ixes. Quan i ica ion 84 based on iso ope-labeled in e nal s anda ds has disad an ages due o he 85 expensi eness o hese s anda ds and hei limi ed a ailabili y. MMC is o en used 86 5 quan i ica ion me hod in ace analysis. Howe e , he lack o blank ma ixes and he 87 need o s o ing hem can make his app oach logis ically one ous and no necessa ily 88 accu a e. SAC is he mos adequa e echnique o use when i is di icul o ind blank 89 samples o he s udied ma ix, bu a calib a ion se is equi ed o each sample, 90 inc easing he o al numbe o injec ions and he ime spen in da a p ocessing. 91 Ano he p oblem ela ed o he de e mina ion o phenols in WW is ha depending 92 on he ype o WW ea men , WW e luen s can ha e di e en amoun s o suspended 93 pa icula e ma e (SPM). This SPM is no mally disca ded du ing he ex ac ion 94 p ocess by il a ion in mos o he analy ical me hods epo ed in li e a u e [38]. 95 Howe e , a ecen s udy [35] has demons a ed ha ce ain analy es can be e ained in 96 he SPM, depending on i s pola i y. The e o e, i should be necessa y o e alua e he 97 p esence o phenols in bo h phases in o de o de e mine whe he he SPM mus be 98 disca ded o no . 99 Fu he mo e, i mus be poin ed ou ha many a icles epo ing simul aneous 100 ex ac ion and de e mina ion o di e en classes o phenols (including APs, CPs and, 101 NTPs) in wa e [39,40] can be ound. Howe e , hey ha e been de eloped o he 102 analysis o his ype o compounds in su ace wa e , and hey a e no alid o he 103 analysis in WW samples, due o hey a e mo e complex ma ices wi h di e en 104 physico-chemical cha ac e is ics (SPM le els, o ganic ma e , e c.). 105 The e o e, in his s udy, a simul aneous SPE ex ac ion and de e mina ion o 106 di e en phenolic amilies (CPs, NTPs, c esols and APs) has been de eloped o WW 107 e luen samples. In addi ion wo no el aspec s o his wo k mus be poin ed ou : 108 (i) a s udy o he p esence o phenolic compounds in he SPM acco ding o he 109 s a egy ecen ly p oposed by Ba co-Bonilla e al [35], and (ii) a compa ison o 110 6 MMC and SAC in o de o e alua e he bes quan i ica ion s a egy o phenolic 111 compounds in complex ma ices such as WWs. Fo ha , wo di e en WW 112 e luen s we e s udied indi idually: memb ane bio eac o (MBR, low SPM con en ) 113 and anae obic pond (ANAP, high SPM con en ). The op imized SPE and 114 quan i ica ion me hod was alida ed in bo h ypes o WWs e luen samples. 115 116 2. Expe imen al 117 2.1. Chemicals and ma e ials 118 Phenolic compounds s anda ds, 2-ni ophenol (2-NTP), 4-ni ophenol (4-NTP), 2,4- 119 dime hylphenol (2,4-DMP), 2-CP, 4-chlo ophenol (4-CP), 2,4-dichlo ophenol (2,4- 120 diCP), 2,4,5- ichlo ophenol (2,4,5- iCP), 2,4,6- ichlo ophenol (2,4,6- iCP) and 4- 121 n-NP we e ob ained om Fluka (Buchs, Swi ze land). On he o he hand, 3- 122 ni ophenol (3-NTP), 4-chlo o-3-me hylphenol (4-C-3-MP), 4- e OP and PCP we e 123 supplied by Supelco (Belle on e, PA, USA). Pu i ies we e always >97%. A s anda d 124 solu ion (100 mg L−1) o iso opically labeled PCP ([13C6]-PCP) was used as in e nal 125 s anda d (IS) and i was ob ained om D . E hens o e (Augsbu g, Ge many). S ock 126 s anda d solu ions o indi idual compounds (wi h concen a ions anging om 200 o 127 450 mg L-1) we e p epa ed by exac weighing o he powde o liquid and dissolu ion 128 in 50 mL o ace one. These solu ions we e hen s o ed unde e ige a ion (T <5 ºC). 129 A wo king s anda d solu ion o he 13 phenolic compounds (2 mg L-1 o each 130 compound) was p epa ed by app op ia e dilu ion o he s ock solu ions wi h ace one, 131 and i was s o ed unde e ige a ion (T <5 ºC). A wo king s anda d solu ion o [13C6]- 132 PCP (22 mg L-1) was p epa ed by app op ia e dilu ion o he s anda d solu ion wi h 133 ace one and s o ed unde he a o emen ioned condi ions. HPLC-g ade me hanol 134 7 (MeOH), anhyd ide ace ic acid (AAA) (99.9%), and py idine (Py) (99.8%) we e 135 pu chased om Sigma-Ald ich (Mad id, Spain). Ace one and hyd ochlo ic acid (HCl) 136 we e ob ained om J.T. Bake (De en e , Ne he lands). Dichlo ome hane (DCM) was 137 pu chased om Riedel-de Haën (Seelze-Hanno e , Ge many). Ul apu e wa e was 138 ob ained om a Milli-Q G adien wa e sys em (Millipo e, Bed o d, MA, USA). 139 Thi y mm cellulose il e s and 47-mm glass mic o ibe il e s om Wha man 140 (Maids one, England, UK) and 0.45-µm HNWP nylon memb ane il e s om 141 Millipo e (Ca ig wohill, Coun y Co k, I eland) we e also a ailable o il a ion 142 s ages. Fo SPE, Oasis HLB (200 mg, 6 cm3) ca idges we e ob ained om Wa e s 143 (Mil o d, MA, USA). 144 145 2.2. Appa a us 146 A GC sys em Va ian 3800 (Va ian Ins umen s, Sunny ale, CA, USA) equipped wi h 147 elec onic low con ol was in e aced o a 1200L iple quad upole (QqQ) mass 148 spec ome e . Samples we e injec ed in o an SPI/1079 spli /spli less p og ammed- 149 empe a u e injec o using a Combi Pal (CTC Analy ics AG, Zwingen, Swi ze land) 150 wi h a 100-µL sy inge. A used-silica un ea ed capilla y column (2 m × 0.25 mm i.d.) 151 om Supelco was used as p e-column connec ed o a VF-5 ms Fac o Fou capilla y 152 column (30 m × 0.25 mm i.d. × 0.25 µm ilm hickness) pu chased om Va ian. 153 Helium was used as ca ie gas (99.9999%) a a cons an low a e o 1 mL min−1, and 154 a gon (99.999%) was used as collision gas. The mass spec ome e was ope a ed in 155 elec on ioniza ion (EI) mode a 70 eV. The mass spec ome e was calib a ed e e y 156 ou days wi h pe luo o ibu ylamine. Va ian Wo ks a ion so wa e was used o 157 ins umen con ol and da a analysis. 158 8 A Reax-2 o a y agi a o om Heidolph (Schwabach, Ge many) was used o 159 agi a ion o he de i a iza ion mix u e. An analy ical balance AB204-S om Me le 160 Toledo (G ei ensee, Swi ze land) and a o a y e apo a o R-114 (Büchi, Flawil, 161 Swi ze land) we e used du ing ex ac ion and s anda d p epa a ion. The ho izon al 162 shake used in he dis ibu ion s udy was ob ained om P-Selec a (Selec a, Ba celona, 163 Spain). 164 165 2.3. Sampling 166 WW u ban e luen s om wo di e en ea men s, namely, MBR and ANAP, wi h 167 low and high SPM con en espec i ely, we e collec ed om WW ea men plan 168 (WWTP) o he ounda ion Cen e o New Wa e Technologies (“Cen o de las 169 Nue as Tecnologías del Agua”, CENTA, Se ille, Spain). This WWTP has 41000 m2 170 and i cu en ly holds mo e han 20 sys ems wi h di e en echnologies. Addi ional 171 physicochemical da a ela ed o he ea men s e alua ed in his s udy can be ound in 172 [35]. WW e luen samples we e s o ed a 4 ºC and p ocessed wi hin 5 days a e 173 collec ion. In he MMC expe imen s, and due o he di icul y o inding WW e luen 174 blank samples, he co esponding signal o he blank was emo ed om he MMC 175 plo in hose samples whe e analy e signal was obse ed. 176 177 2.4. Dis ibu ion s udy 178 Non- il e ed WW e luen samples we e spiked wi h 0.5 µg L-1 o he s udied 179 phenolic compounds, and hen, hey we e agi a ed o e nigh a a a e o 100 180 oscilla ions pe min o allow a ho oughly in e ac ion be ween he analy es and bo h 181 9 phases o WW (aqueous phase and SPM). A e his, samples we e il e ed o sepa a e 182 and analyze bo h phases. The aqueous phase was ex ac ed by SPE, whe eas o he 183 analysis o he SPM, a me hod de eloped by Padilla-Sánchez e al. [33] o he 184 ex ac ion o phenolic compounds in ag icul u al soils was employed. The dis ibu ion 185 o he compounds be ween bo h phases was de e mined as he pe cen age o hem 186 p esen in each phase. 187 188 2.5. GC-QqQ-MS/MS 189 Aliquo s o 10 µL we e injec ed in o he GC sys em ope a ing a a sy inge injec ion 190 low a e o 10 µL s−1. The injec o empe a u e p og am was as ollows: 70 ºC (hold 191 o 0.5 min) → 310 ºC (100 ºC min−1, hold o 10 min). The injec o spli a io was 192 ini ially se a 10:1. Spli less mode was swi ched on a 0.5 min un il 3.5 min. A 3.5 193 min, he spli a io was 100:1 and a 10 min, 20:1. The column o en p og am was as 194 ollows: 70 ºC (hold o 3.5 min) → 300 ºC (20 ºC min−1) → 300 ºC (hold 4 min). 195 C yogenic cooling wi h CO2 was applied when he injec o empe a u e was 170 ºC. 196 The o al unning ime was 19 min. 197 The QqQ mass spec ome e was mainly ope a ed in he selec ed eac ion 198 moni o ing (SRM) mode, al hough selec ing ion moni o ing (SIM) mode was also 199 used o con i ma ion pu poses. The elec on mul iplie was se +200 V abo e he 200 op imal alue indica ed by he so wa e ins umen . The empe a u es o he ans e 201 line, mani old and ioniza ion sou ce we e se a 300, 40 and 265 °C, espec i ely. The 202 op imal alues o he scan ime anged om 0.132 o 0.240 s. Peak wid hs o m/z 2.0 203 and 1.5 we e se in he i s (Q1) and hi d quad upole (Q3), espec i ely. The 204 op imized MS/MS pa ame e s a e indica ed in Table 1. 205 10 2.6. SPE ex ac ion and de i a iza ion p ocedu e 206 WW e luen samples we e il e ed consecu i ely (250 mL) using wo di e en po e- 207 size il e s (47-mm glass mic o ibe il e s and 0.45-µm nylon memb ane il e s). The 208 il e ed WW e luen s showed pH alues be ween 7.7 and 8.3. Then, pH was adjus ed 209 o 2.5-2.7 wi h HCl (2 M) o ensu e he p o ona ed o m o he phenolic compounds, 210 acili a ing he abso p ion in o he solid phase, and an adequa e p ese a ion o he 211 samples. The Oasis HLB ca idges we e condi ioned wi h 5 mL o ace one ollowed 212 by 5 mL o MeOH and 3 x 5 mL o ul apu e wa e wi hou allowing he ca idges o 213 d y ou . Then, he il e ed WW sample (250 mL) was passed h ough he ca idges 214 unde acuum a a low a e o 10 mL min-1. The ca idges we e d ied o 2 h and he 215 phenolic compounds we e elu ed sequen ially wi h 3 mL o ace one and 2 mL o 216 DCM. The ex ac s we e collec ed in o 5-mL olume ic lasks, adjus ing he o al 217 olume wi h DCM, wi hou any e apo a ion s ep. Then, he de i a iza ion s age was 218 pe o med acco ding o he p ocedu e desc ibed by Padilla-Sánchez e al. [33]. 219 B ie ly, 860 µL o he ex ac we e ans e ed o a 2-mL ial and 20 µL o [13C6]- 220 PCP (IS), 20 µL o Py and 100 µL o AAA we e added o ca y ou he de i a iza ion 221 eac ion. The mix u e was shaking in a o a y agi a o o 2 min and hen injec ed 222 di ec ly o he GC-QqQ-MS/MS sys em. 223 224 3. Resul s and discussion 225 WWs can be submi ed o di e en ea men s, ob aining e luen s wi h a a ie y o 226 SPM con en s, and hus, WW e luen s can p esen di e en physico-chemical 227 p ope ies. When an analy ical me hod is de eloped o his ype o samples, his 228 di e si y should be aken in o accoun . In o de o co e a wide ange o WW 229 11 e luen s, wo ypes o hem we e e alua ed, MBR and ANAP, which ha e low and 230 high SPM con en [35], espec i ely. The op imiza ion o he ex ac ion p ocedu e as 231 well as he quan i ica ion me hods, we e e alua ed in bo h ypes o WW e luen s. Fo 232 ha pu pose, a GC-QqQ-MS/MS me hod ecen ly de eloped [33] was applied. 233 234 3.1. Ex ac ion me hod 235 Fo he op imiza ion o he SPE p ocedu e, a me hodology epo ed by Po hi ou e al. 236 [8] was i s conside ed. This s udy epo ed he de e mina ion o only one amily o 237 phenolic compounds, APs, using Oasis HLB ca idges and ace one as elu ion sol en . 238 Besides, ce ain p oblems ega ding he e apo a ion s ages ha e been p e iously 239 epo ed [33], and he e o e, he ex ac ion me hod was designed wi hou any 240 e apo a ion s ep. Since he amilies o phenolic compounds included in his s udy 241 showed a wide pola i y ange, se e al elu ion sol en s we e es ed o achie e a 242 simul aneous ex ac ion [8]. Ace one (5 mL), DCM (5 mL) and a sequen ial elu ion 243 wi h ace one (3 mL) and DCM (2 mL) we e es ed. Bea ing in mind ha e apo a ion 244 s eps we e no included in he ex ac ion p ocedu e and aliquo s o he ex ac s a e 245 di ec ly injec ed in he ch oma og aphic sys em, he elu ion sol en could be pa ially 246 e ained in he solid phase o e apo a ed du ing he elu ion s ep. This can p o oke an 247 o e es ima ion o he inal concen a ion in ela ion o he heo e ical alue, ob aining 248 high eco e y alues. In o de o a oid his, 5-mL olume ic lasks we e used o 249 collec he ex ac s and he inal olume was adjus ed o 5 mL wi h he co esponding 250 sol en used du ing he elu ion s ep. The ob ained esul s a e shown in Figu e 1 and i 251 can be obse ed ha ace one p o ided adequa e esul s o all compounds, excep o 252 2,4-dMP and 4-n-NP. When DCM was used, eco e ies highe han 120% we e 253 12 ob ained o 2-CP, 2-NTP and 4-CP, al hough eco e y o 4-n-NP was imp o ed. 254 Consequen ly, in o de o ob ain good eco e ies o all he compounds, a sequen ial 255 elu ion wi h ace one and DCM was es ed. In gene al, his elu ion imp o ed he 256 eco e y a es, especially o 2,4-dMP, 2-CP, 2-NTP and 4-CP. None heless, 257 eco e ies be ween 50-60% may be accep ed ex ao dina ily in en i onmen al 258 analysis whene e he p ecision alues a e adequa e (<30%). The e o e, u he 259 expe imen s we e ca ied ou using he sequen ial elu ion wi h ace one (3 mL) and 260 DCM (2 mL) as elu ion sol en s. Finally, a o al ion ch oma og am (TIC) o an 261 ex ac ed spiked WW sample a 50 g L-1 is showed in Figu e 2. 262 263 3.2. Dis ibu ion s udy 264 Once he ex ac ion me hod was op imized o he analysis o he aqueous phase o 265 WW e luen samples, a dis ibu ion s udy is needed o e i y whe he he phenolic 266 compounds a e also p esen in he SPM. I phenolic compounds a e p esen 267 quan i a i ely in he SPM, he analysis o WW e luen s should no be limi ed o he 268 aqueous phase. The dis ibu ion s udy was he e o e ca ied ou , applying he 269 app oach desc ibed in Sec ion 2.4 o bo h ype o samples. I was obse ed ha only 270 he phenolic compounds wi h high log Kow we e ound in he SPM, bu a negligible 271 pe cen ages (<5%). On he con a y, phenolic compounds wi h lowe log Kow whe e 272 no ound in he SPM (da a no shown). Taking in o accoun his esul , u he 273 expe imen s we e limi ed o he analysis o he a ge analy es in he aqueous phase, 274 disca ding he SPM phase. These esul s a e in acco dance wi h a p e ious s udy [35] 275 epo ing ha pola compounds we e no e ained in he SPM. 276 277 19 Re e ences 405 [1] S. Eke , K.J. Fik e , En i on. Manage. 90 (2009) 692-698 406 [2] M. Conce a-Tomei, M. C is ina-Annesini, En i on. Sci. Technol. 39 (2005) 5059- 407 5065. 408 [3] C. Li, S. Taneda, A.K. Suzuki, C. Fu u a, G. Wa anabe, K. Taya, Toxicol. Appl. 409 Pha m. 217 (2006) 1–6. 410 [4] D. Li, J. Pa k, J.R. Oh, Anal. Chem. 73 (2001) 3089-3095. 411 [5] M. Solé, M.J. López-De-Alda, M. Cas illo, C. Po e, K. Ladegaa d-Pede sen, D. 412 Ba celó, En i on. Sci. 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Calib a ion cu es in he ange 10-150 g L-1 o 4- e OP when SAC and 489 MMC we e used: a) ANAP; b) MBR. Abb e ia ions: ANAP: anae obic pond; MBR: 490 memb ane bio eac o ; MMC: ma ix-ma ched calib a ion; SAC: s anda d addi ion 491 calib a ion; 4- e OP: 4- e oc ylphenol 492 Fig. 4. Selec ed- eac ion moni o ing (SRM) (a) ch oma og am and (b) MS/MS 493 spec um o 4- e OP (0.12 g L-1) ound in a eal WW sample and (c) SRM 494 ch oma og am and (d) MS/MS spec um o a SAC s anda d (50 g L-1). 495 496 497 498 Depa amen o de Hid ogeología y Química Analí ica C a . S a c a m e n o L a C a ñ a d a d e S a n U b a n o 0 4 1 2 0 A l m e í a ( E s p a ñ a ) T e l . : 9 5 0 0 1 5 4 8 3 F A X : 9 5 0 0 1 5 4 8 3 w w w . u a l . e s Alme ia, 12 July 2011 Dea Edi o : Please, ind enclosed he e ised e sion o he manusc ip en i led “Simul aneous analysis o chlo ophenols, alkylphenols, ni ophenols and c esols in was ewa e e luen s, using solid phase ex ac ion and u he de e mina ion by gas ch oma og aphy– andem mass spec ome y”, Manusc ip No. TAL-D-11-00529. We e ised ou manusc ip aking in o accoun he e iewe ’s commen s (changes a e indica ed by using “T ack Changes”). Al hough we ied o cla i y he e iewe ’s commen s, we ha e conside ed ha i was also necessa y o indica e some aspec s, which can be seen in he documen uploaded as “Response o Re iewe s”. I hope ha he e iewing p ocess inds he e ised manusc ip accep able o publica ion in he jou nal. You s Since ely, P o . An onia Ga ido F enich Co e Le e Figu e(s) Click he e o download high esolu ion image Figu e(s) Click he e o download high esolu ion image Figu e(s) Click he e o download high esolu ion image Figu e(s) Click he e o download high esolu ion image