Exploring the Behaviour of Emerging Contaminants in the Water Cycle using the Capabilities of High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Authors

  • Juliane Hollender Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics ETH Zürich, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland. juliane.hollender@eawag.ch
  • Marc Bourgin Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Kathrin B. Fenner Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Philipp Longrée Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Christa S. Mcardell Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics ETH Zürich, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland
  • Christoph Moschet Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Matthias Ruff Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Emma L. Schymanski Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
  • Heinz P. Singer Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology Überlandstrasse 133 CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2014.793

Keywords:

Emerging contaminants, High-resolution mass spectrometry, Non-target screening, Transformation products, Water cycle

Abstract

To characterize a broad range of organic contaminants and their transformation products (TPs) as well as their loads, input pathways and fate in the water cycle, the Department of Environmental Chemistry (Uchem) at Eawag applies and develops high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) methods combined with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS/MS). In this article, the background and state-of-the-art of LC-HRMS/MS for detection of i) known targets, ii) suspected compounds like TPs, and iii) unknown emerging compounds are introduced briefly. Examples for each approach are taken from recent research projects conducted within the department. These include the detection of trace organic contaminants and their TPs in wastewater, pesticides and their TPs in surface water, identification of new TPs in laboratory degradation studies and ozonation experiments and finally the screening for unknown compounds in the catchment of the river Rhine.

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Published

2014-11-26

Issue

Section

Scientific Articles

How to Cite

[1]
J. Hollender, M. Bourgin, K. B. Fenner, P. Longrée, C. S. Mcardell, C. Moschet, M. Ruff, E. L. Schymanski, H. P. Singer, Chimia 2014, 68, 793, DOI: 10.2533/chimia.2014.793.