Measuring the concentrations of drinking water disinfection by-products using capillary membrane sampling-flow injection analysis

A capillary membrane sampling-flow injection analysis method is presented for selectively measuring the concentrations of total trihalomethanes (THMs) and total haloacetic acids (HAAs) in drinking water. The method is based on the reaction between nicotinamide and THM or HAA species to yield a fluorescent product. Two configurations are presented, one selective for total THMs and another selective for total HAAs. The construction of a capillary membrane sampler is described, and the results of method detection limit, accuracy and precision studies are reported for each method. Interference, selectivity and linearity studies are reported as well as the effect of temperature and ionic strength changes. Drinking water samples were analyzed by each proposed method and the results were compared to USEPA methods 502.2 and 552.3.