Chromatographic Methods for Environmental Analysis - Fundamentals of Environmental Sampling and Analysis - page 278

10.4.2 Semivolatile and Nonvolatile Organics
with HPLC

It is estimated that approximately 85% of known organic compounds are not
sufficiently volatile or stable enough to be separated and analyzed by GC. With this
regard, HPLC should have a greater potential in analyzing organic compounds of
semivolatile or nonvolatile nature. HPLC has found wide applications in many fields
such as environmental, chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries for research
and regulatory compliance with the EPA, FDA, and OSHA. However, the number of
HPLC-based methods developed by the US EPA or other agencies is significantly
fewer than the number of GC-based methods. Partially, it is because GC has many
versatile detectors, and in many cases, derivatization enhanced this technique.
HPLC, on the contrary, is still less affordable and involves more troubleshooting.
Table 10.9 below is a summary of HPLC-based EPA methods for the analysis of
chemicals in air, water, and waste.

Table 10.9 HPLC-based U.S. EPA methods

Matrix Method series Method number

Air TO series 5 TO series methods (TO-5; TO-6; TO-8; TO-11; TO-13).

Water/ EPA 500 1 EPA 500 series method (531).

Wastewater EPA 600 2 EPA 600 series methods (605; 610).

Waste SW-846 8 EPA 8000 series methods (8315 to 8332)

Five TO series methods are based on HPLC. These methods are developed to
analyze air pollutants including aldehyde, ketone, phosgene, phenol, cresols,
formaldehyde, and PAHs. The only 500 series HPLC method deals with the analysis
of N-methylcarbomoyloximes and N-methylcarbamates in water. Two 600 series
HPLC methods can analyze benzidines and PAHs. Compounds analyzed by HPLC
in the SW-846 methods include carbonyl compounds, acrylamide, acrylonitrile and
acrolein, N-methylcarbamates, solvent extractable nonvolatile compounds, nitroaro-
matics and nitramines, tetrazene, and nitroglycerine. Note that all these listed
compounds are either semivolatile or nonvolatile. Some of the SVOCs can also be
analyzed by GC.

10.4.3 Ionic Species with IC

The environmental applications of IC deserve some special attention. IC is
probably the only technique that can separate mixture of anions and detect them at
the trace ppb level. Anionic IC has applications for F ,Cl ,Br ,I ,NO 2 ,NO 3 ,
SO 2 4 , HPO 2 4 ,PO 3 4 , SCN ,IO 3 , and ClO 4 , as well as organic acids or their salts.
The US EPA has released methods, for example, to measure Cl ,F ,NO 3 ,NO 2 ,
o-phosphate, and SO 2
4

in water (Method 300, O'Dell et al., 1984). Several IC-based