This book is written as a reference on organic substances in natural waters and as a supplementary text for graduate students in water chemistry. The chapters address five topics: amount, origin, nature, geochemistry, and characterization of organic carbon. Of these topics, the main themes are the amount and nature of dissolved organic carbon in natural waters (mainly fresh water, although seawater is briefly discussed). It is hoped that the reader is familiar with organic chemistry, but it is not necessary. The first part of the book is a general overview of the amount and general nature of dissolved organic carbon. Over the past 10 years there has been an exponential increase in knowledge on organic substances in water, which is the result of money directed toward the research of organic compounds, of new methods of analysis (such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry), and most importantly, the result of more people working in this field. Because of this exponential increase in knowledge, there is a need to pull together and summarize the data that has accumulated from many disciplines over the last decade.

Organic geochemistry of natural waters

High performance liquid chromatographic determination of subpicomole amounts of amino acids by precolumn fluorescence derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde

Aquatic toxicity from pulp and paper mill effluents: a review

Oceans are the largest reservoirs of reactive organic carbon on the Earth. Most (97%) of the organic carbon in seawater resides in the operationally defined dissolved phase. The separation of the particulate and dissolved phases is most commonly accomplished by the passage of water samples through filters with pore sizes in the range 0.2–1.0 μm. During the past decade, it has become increasingly common to avoid the filtration of open ocean water samples for the separation of the particulate and dissolved phases. Filtration is often omitted because particulate organic carbon (POC) is a small fraction of the total organic carbon and the extra handling and processing of water samples during filtration aboard ship can lead to contamination. Concentrations of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in unfiltered water samples are referred to as total organic concentrations (TOC, TON, and TOP respectively). Relatively small volumes (milliliters) of seawater are analyzed for these measurements and larger particles are not represented in these samples. Thus, the term “total” is somewhat of a misnomer for these analyses. In this chapter the data gathered on the concentrations and chemical composition of marine DOM includes some samples that were not filtered prior to the analysis. These samples come from the open ocean and the contribution of particulate organic matter (POM) to the reported data is considered to be minimal. In some cases, data for both filtered and unfiltered samples were available and the differences among these samples were often within the error of the measurement.

Chapter 3 – Chemical Composition and Reactivity

Partial least-squares method for spectrofluorimetric analysis of mixtures of humic acid and lignin sulfonate

Hydrolyse eines Birkensulfatzel ls toffes Ein Birkensulfatzellstoff mit einem DP-Wert von 850 und einem -Cellulosegahlt von 90,5 wurde nach den oben beschriebenen Bedingungen hydrolysiert. Der Kristallinitätsindex nahm bei dieser Behandlung von 54 auf 74,5 zu. Auch hier konnte man feststellen, daß durch heterogene Hydrolyse die röntgenamorphen Bereiche nicht voll entfernt werden konnten und daß die Röntgenkristallinität des Hydrolyseproduktes weit unter dem Wert der Hydrocellulose aus BaumwollLinters liegt. Es konnte ferner nachgewiesen werden, daß die Hydrocellulose verschiedene Fraktionen enthält, die große Unterschiede im Ordnungszustand aufweisen.

Analysis of Lignin Products by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Simple apparatus for on-site continuous liquid-liquid extraction of organic compounds from natural waters

Determination of soluble carbohydrates in sea water by partition chromatography after desalting by ion-exchange membrane electrodialysis

A rapid and sensitive method to determine volatile organohalides in different types of waters has been developed. The chromatographic system is based on the resolving power of the glass capillary column and the high sensitivity of the electron capture detector. The capillary columns were connected to the detector so that the eluate from the column is mixed with thermostatted purge gas to minimize band broadening due to dead volumes. The low column bleeding and decreased band spreading from capillary columns enhance the sensitivity to very low levels: 1 fg (10−15g) for carbon tetrachloride, despite dilution of the column eluate by the purge gas.



The water samples of 100 ml were extracted with 1 to 10 ml n-pentane which is the most practical alkane with respect to purity. When using high water to pentane ratios corrections had to be made, due to low extraction yield, to get accurate quantifications.



A column with Carbowax 400 stationary phase permits direct tap water injection. The water peak concealed the substances eluated after CHCl3 and CHBrCl2.



The gas chromatographic separation of haloforms in tap water could be shortened to 30 seconds using a 10 m SE–52 column with an increased film thickness.



Besides tap water and seawater, industrial waste water from a pulp mill was analyzed. Ten different halogenated organic compounds, ranging from 1 ng/I to 760 μg/I, were quantified in the different waters. Bromoform, which had not previously been found in seawater, was detected.



Chromatogram of a standard mixture containing 11 organohalides. Stationary phase, SE-52; 33 m × 0.3 mm i.d. inj. temp. 200°, column temp. 50°, interface 250°, detector temp. 250°. Helium carrier gas flow rate, 36 cm/s, scavenger'gas flow 30 ml/min.



Split ratio 1:20, 1 = CH2CI2, 2 = CHC13, 3 = CH3CC13, 4 = CC14, 5 = CHCICCI2, 6 = CHBrCI2, 7 = CBrC13, 8 = CHBr2Cl, 9 = CCl2CC12, 10 = CHCl2l, 11 = CHBr3.

Determination of volatile halogenated hydrocarbons in tap water, seawater and industrial effluents by glass capillary gas chromatography and electron capture detection

Björn Josefsson

Papers

Analysis of Lignin Products by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Simple apparatus for on-site continuous liquid-liquid extraction of organic compounds from natural waters

Determination of soluble carbohydrates in sea water by partition chromatography after desalting by ion-exchange membrane electrodialysis

Determination of volatile halogenated hydrocarbons in tap water, seawater and industrial effluents by glass capillary gas chromatography and electron capture detection

A fluorescence method for studies of spent sulfite liquor and humic substances in sea water.