Speciation of phosphorus oxoacids in natural and waste water samples

Phosphorus is a key nutrient and in natural environments regulates trophic status and consequently water quality. Therefore monitoring of phosphorus content in natural and wastewater is essential. Although several phosphorus species can be found in the environment, the majority of the methods developed are for orthophosphate determination. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with inductively coupled plasma with atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) has been first used in this study for the speciation of the most common phosphorus oxoanions in aquatic environments: orthophosphate, phosphite, hypophosphite, pyrophosphate and tripolyphosphate. The chromatograms have been obtained by registering the phosphorous 213.618 nm emission intensity variation with time. The pH and the ionic strength of the mobile phase have been the most critical variables of the chromatographic separation. Moreover, methanol addition promotes the elution of the most retained species. Finally, by using ammonium nitrate and a gradient elution, increasing ionic strength and decreasing the pH, the separation has been achieved in 12 min. Limits of detection have been included within the 1–5 mg L−1 range. The developed methodology has been tested with spiked tap water and effluent water of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) obtaining recoveries in the range of 91.5–114.1% for a 20 mg P L−1 spike concentration.

► Phosphorus speciation in natural and waste water samples.
► For the first time, speciation includes simple and condensate oxoanions.
► The method uses an anion exchange HPLC system coupled to an ICP-AES as a detector.
► The chromatographic separation was achieved, with a gradient elution, in 12 min.
► This method would allow the determination of other elements in a single run.