Development of a headspace-gas chromatography (HS-GC-PID-FID) method for the determination of VOCs in environmental aqueous matrices: Optimization, verification and elimination of matrix effect and VOC distribution on the Fortaleza Coast, Brazil

An analytical protocol combining a headspace technique with gas chromatography and detection by photoionization detector and flame ionization detector (HS-GC-PID-FID) was developed. This procedure was used to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in environmental aqueous matrices and was applied in determination of VOCs on the coast of Fortaleza, Brazil. At optimum operating conditions, analytical figures of merit such as linearity (R ranged from 0.9983 to 0.9993), repeatability (5.62 to 9.63% and 0.02 to 0.19% for the quantitative and qualitative analyses, respectively), detection limits (0.22 to 7.48 μg L−1) and sensibility were estimated. This protocol favors a fast sampling/sample preparation (in situ), minimizes the use of laboratory material, eliminates the matrix effect from environmental samples, and can be applied to river, estuarine and oceanic waters. The advantage of detectors in series is that a low sensitivity in detection in one is compensated by the other. Toluene was the most abundant VOC in the studied area, with an average concentration of 1.63 μg L−1. It was followed by o-xylene (1.15 μg L−1), trichloroethene (1.08 μg L−1), benzene (0.86 μg L−1), ethylbenzene (0.74 μg L−1), carbon tetrachloride (0.55 μg L−1), m/p-xylene (0.48 μg L−1) and tetrachloroethene (0.46 μg L−1), compounds which are very commonly detected in urban runoff from most cities. The results of the VOC distribution showed that port activity was not the main source of VOCs along the Fortaleza Coast, but that the contribution from urban runoff seemed more significant.