A novel infrared spectrophotometric method for the rapid determination of petroleum hydrocarbons, and animal and vegetable oils in water

To determine the concentrations of total oils, petroleum hydrocarbons, and animal and vegetable oils in water, the conventional analytical methods involve two scans as well as a step of magnesium silicate adsorption to remove the animal and vegetable oils in water samples. In this study, a novel analytical method was developed to determine the above oils in wastewater samples through just one scan-the concentration of animal and vegetable oils, and that of total oils were determined by measuring the absorbance of the >CO bond in the peak area between 1750 cm−1 and 1735 cm−1, and of the C-H bond at 2930 cm−1, 2960 cm−1, and 3030 cm−1, respectively. The concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons was then calculated by subtracting the concentration of animal and vegetable oils from that of total oils. Compared with the well-known analytical method GB/T 16488-1996, the novel approach displayed similar accuracy in the quantitative determination of oils in wastewater samples, but significantly reduced material cost and operation time.