TY - JOUR

T1 - In situ measurement of perfluoroalkyl substances in aquatic systems using diffusive gradients in thin-films technique

AU - Guan, Dong-Xing

AU - Li, Ya-Qing

AU - Yu, Nan-Yang

AU - Yu, Guang-Hui

AU - Wei, Si

AU - Zhang, Hao

AU - Davison, William

AU - Cui, Xin-Yi

AU - Ma, Lena Q.

AU - Luo, Jun

PY - 2018/11/1

Y1 - 2018/11/1

N2 - To better understand the environmental impact of ubiquitous perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in waters, reliable and robust measurement techniques are needed. As one of the most widely used passive sampling approaches, diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) is not only easy to handle but also provides time-weighted analyte concentrations. Based on DGT with XAD18 as a binding agent, we developed a new methodology to measure two frequently detected PFASs in surface waters and wastewaters, i.e. perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Their diffusion coefficients in the diffusive gel, measured using an independent diffusion cell, were 4.37 × 10−6 and 5.08 × 10−6 cm2 s−1 at 25 °C, respectively. DGT had a high capacity for PFOA and PFOS at 196 and 246 μg per gel disk, suggesting the DGT sampler was suitable for deployment of several weeks. Time-integrated concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in a natural lake and river, and a municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent using DGT samplers deployed in situ for 12–33 d were comparable to those measured by a solid-phase extraction method coupled with high-frequency grab sampling. This study demonstrates that DGT is an effective tool for in situ monitoring of PFASs in natural waters and wastewaters.

AB - To better understand the environmental impact of ubiquitous perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in waters, reliable and robust measurement techniques are needed. As one of the most widely used passive sampling approaches, diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) is not only easy to handle but also provides time-weighted analyte concentrations. Based on DGT with XAD18 as a binding agent, we developed a new methodology to measure two frequently detected PFASs in surface waters and wastewaters, i.e. perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Their diffusion coefficients in the diffusive gel, measured using an independent diffusion cell, were 4.37 × 10−6 and 5.08 × 10−6 cm2 s−1 at 25 °C, respectively. DGT had a high capacity for PFOA and PFOS at 196 and 246 μg per gel disk, suggesting the DGT sampler was suitable for deployment of several weeks. Time-integrated concentrations of PFOA and PFOS in a natural lake and river, and a municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent using DGT samplers deployed in situ for 12–33 d were comparable to those measured by a solid-phase extraction method coupled with high-frequency grab sampling. This study demonstrates that DGT is an effective tool for in situ monitoring of PFASs in natural waters and wastewaters.

KW - Perfluoroalkyl substances

KW - Diffusive gradients in thin-films

KW - Diffusion coefficients

KW - Passive sampling

KW - Surface waters

KW - Wastewaters

U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2018.07.031

DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2018.07.031

M3 - Journal article

VL - 144

SP - 162

EP - 171

JO - Water Research

JF - Water Research

SN - 0043-1354

ER -