Pre-concentration and determination of traces of nitrobenzene and 1,3-dinitrobenzene in water samples using anthracite adsorbent

This study introduces a novel analytical method for the determination of nitrobenzene (NB) and 1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB) from an aqueous solution using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and anthracite as adsorbent for pre-concentration. The method showed good linearity for determination of NB and DNB concentrations in the range of 0.10–200 μg L−1 with regression coefficients better than 0.9995. Limits of detections (LOD) were 0.010 and 0.055 μg L−1 for DNB and NB, respectively. Relative standard deviations (RSD) for 0.50 μg L−1 and 150 μg L−1 were in the range of 2.0–3.8% for (DNB) and 3.0–4.8% for (NB).

Chromatograms of 1,3-dinitrobenzene (DNB) and nitrobenzene (NB) in the initial solution before extraction (a), initial solution after extraction (b) and desorbing solvent after pre-concentration (c). λabs = 254 nm.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide